A new report argues Chinese interference in Canada is not limited to election meddling or espionage.
Rather, China is waging a broad, long-term campaign to shape political systems, academic institutions and public discourse in ways favourable to Beijing, the report says.
The report by the Montreal Institute for Global Security examines how the Chinese Communist Party operates across Canada and other G7 countries through networks tied to business, academia, media and politics.
“ This kind of activity doesn’t only happen during elections,” said Kyle Matthews, a report co-author and executive director of the institute.
“It’s planned out to go on for decades and decades.”
Threats real, systemic
The Montreal Institute for Global Security is an independent think tank founded in 2024 to focus on authoritarian influence, digital threats and democratic resilience. The institute is funded by donors and partners, including the federal government.
For their report, Matthews and his co-author Marie Lamensch drew on open-source research, parliamentary inquiries, intelligence assessments, media investigations and interviews with experts, journalists and former G7 officials.
The report concludes Chinese influence efforts can operate in legal grey zones, relying less on overt coercion than on economic incentives, institutional dependence and long-term relationships. Universities, municipalities and media outlets can all become vulnerable to these forms of influence, it says.
Democracies must avoid paranoia and indiscriminate suspicion toward diaspora communities, Matthews said in an interview with Canadian Affairs. But they must also be alert to the fact that Beijing’s threats are real and systemic.
“We should stop pretending that it’s harmful or hateful to call out a government when it’s interfering in our democracy,” he said.
The report comes amid heightened scrutiny of foreign interference in Canada following repeated warnings from Canada’s security establishment that China poses a national security challenge.
It also comes in the wake of the recently concluded Hogue inquiry into foreign interference, which concluded that China is “the most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions.”
‘Permissive environment’
The Montreal institute’s report describes Canada as a particularly “permissive environment” for foreign interference among G7 countries.
Canada’s history of multiculturalism, decentralized political system, and large Chinese diaspora population have created conditions that can be exploited by foreign actors, the report says. Canada’s Chinese population reached roughly 1.7 million people in 2021, with nearly half born in China.
Successive governments have been slow to respond partly out of fear that criticism of Beijing would be interpreted as hostility toward Chinese Canadians, says Matthews.
“Was it multiculturalism? Was it a fear of politicians that [countering interference] would be framed as being racist towards Chinese people rather than calling out the Chinese government?” he said in the interview. “That could be it.”
But many of the strongest advocates for tougher action are from diaspora communities targeted by transnational repression campaigns, Matthews notes.
The report also highlights concerns surrounding universities and research partnerships.
According to the report, Canada’s strengths in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology have made Canadian institutions attractive targets for efforts to acquire sensitive research, intellectual property and advanced technologies.
The federal government has started to address these risks.
Since 2024, Ottawa has said that grant applications to advance sensitive technology research will not be funded if any of the researchers involved are affiliated with one of roughly 100 listed high-risk institutions in China, Russia and Iran.
Matthews says awareness is growing, but parts of academia still underestimate the geopolitical risks.
“I do think there are some academics that just think it’s all made up and it’s not serious,” he said. “So I think we need to have more public outreach, more information sharing.
“In critical areas like quantum and AI, China is working to get some of that research to have military applications,” said Matthews. “And the military applications are not against Albania or against North Korea. They are against Canada, NATO allies, the U.S. and Japan.”
Democratic coordination
The report argues that no single democracy can effectively counter foreign interference alone. It calls for a coordinated, G7-wide strategy that focuses on intelligence sharing, research security, cyber capabilities, and strong transparency rules.
Matthews noted the challenge of pursuing greater coordination at this moment.
“We’re dealing right now with a G7 that is weak,” said Matthews, referencing the abrupt shift in American foreign policy.
In January, Carney suggested the world may be entering a “new world order” shaped by weakening American dominance and shifting geopolitical alignments. Ottawa has sought to ease tensions with China, including through a recent agreement to boost Chinese electric vehicle imports and Canadian agricultural exports.
Matthews says Canada should resist the temptation to see China as a simple alternative to an unreliable southern neighbour.
“Yes, we’re trying to set ourselves as a country dealing with a more transactional United States under President Trump, but China is not necessarily the answer,” he said.
“There are a whole set of risks” when dealing with China, said Matthews. “And I would say the risks are far larger than the rewards.”
