Former Canadian intelligence official said Canada needs to look for campaigns aimed at sabotaging the country amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalation of the 51st state threat.
They told CBC News that the most powerful weapon the Trump administration has played to advance the cause of annexation may not be the intelligence agency commanded by the state intelligence agency Tulsi Gabbard.
“I think Mr. Musk is a problem,” said Ward Elcock, who served as CSIS for a decade during the 9/11 attacks and served as national security adviser. “I think that’s a lot.”
The CIA has worked to destabilize many governments and countries using a huge approach like corruption and assassination, but the former spy chief said a campaign against Canada might rely less on cape and Don cheese strategies, while on social media (such as the X platform owned by Elon Musk, owned by Elon Musk).
“yes [Trump] Trying to change the political view of this country? If so, it is foreign intervention. Dick Fadden said he also led CSIS and served as national security adviser to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
“It is unacceptable from China, Russia or anyone else.”
Economic troubles: Canada’s weaknesses
Neil Bisson is a former CSIS intelligence officer, now director of the Global Intelligence Knowledge Network and teaches at the Institute of Professional Development at the University of Ottawa.
He said that despite the obvious signs of Canadian unification in the face of the threat of annexation, some people are vulnerable to sirens, especially among young people who feel economically disadvantaged.
“That would be one of the Linchpins, one of the cracks in the armor that another country is trying to develop,” he told CBC News. “If you have someone worry about where your next meal comes from, or if they are going to be on the roof overhead, then take sovereignty.”
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He said these Canadians may be the target of propaganda campaigns that sell U.S. citizenship.
“There will be some people in Canada who may choose to push this narrative forward,” Beeson said.
Trump administration officials have provided many reasons for tariffs on Canada, but Trump himself said he wanted to use economic power to join Canada on Tuesday morning, again saying that Canada can only avoid economic destruction through annexation.
“He intends to clearly try to undermine our economic stability,” Elcock said. “The reality is that if Canada is really poor, people may start thinking about it. It’s always possible – not all Canadians are willing to endure economic deprivation. So, over time, some may start thinking about it.”
People start to believe it’
Fadden said governments and intelligence agencies have learned the difficult ways to generate false information and propaganda power through social media.
“You keep repeating things often and people start to believe it,” he said. “If it continues along this road for years, almost anyone can wear out.”
In addition to sending politicians to negotiate with their Washington counterparts: “We need to find a way to go back to the information side.”
That means finding “a way to use social media more effectively than I believe we’ve been doing,” he said.
Bisson said the government’s assistance to those affected by the tariffs could affect the impact of such publicity.
“This is what the Canadian government is trying to raise political opinions in its own citizenship: ‘Well, we’ve covered this and we’ll take care of you anyway.’
“Because if it isn’t done and things start to destabilize economically, that will bring more reasons to people back to mind, then, if we just succumb to that, maybe it’s a better idea.”
“Tripwires” of the spy
Intelligence professionals say the U.S. government may use more invasive tactics, such as inciting or financing non-alumni groups within Canada, thus giving the impression of support for the idea.
“They have extraordinary abilities,” Fardden said. “The real question for me is whether they will really use those abilities and resources in the case of Canada.”
He said Canada should be monitoring. “We need to start with the basics. We need to start monitoring the currency flow. We need to start talking about whether they are trying to interfere with elections at all levels.”
But he said secret actions on Canadian soil could bring little reward to the United States in exchange for a great risk. Trump is usually his own messenger, preferring megaphones over encoded information.
“I think the current president’s approach may be as effective as using relatively secret resources from the CIA or the U.S. intelligence community,” Fardden said.
The former spy chief said U.S. intelligence agencies rarely operate in Canada in the past and needed time to develop networks. Elcock said it would be difficult for them to go very far without warning Canadians about their existence.
“Intelligence organizations are always looking for possible threats,” he said, and set up intelligence “Tripwires” to help monitor the threat environment.
“It’s possible for Americans to do something at some point, or talk to people who reported that time – these things are very likely,” he said.
Cleaning in the organization
Intelligence professionals who spoke with CBC News said they expressed confidence in the professionalism of their American counterparts and their historical attachment to alliances such as Five Eyes and NATO.
Elcock said American institutions will have to worry about their people talking about it.
“There is a long relationship between Canada and the United States, and there are still people around who will approve it. So, I don’t think they can do something like that with certainty – it’s not a very, very close operation.”
But if the Trump administration continues to remove personnel in institutions and replace them with management and operational levels, these calculations may change.
“The more you get people into the philosophy of life of the current president of the United States, the more worrying he moves professionals from the intelligence community to the intelligence community and puts his own people in it,” Fardden said.
As for Canadians who want to see their country annex and bring the case loudly, Elcock said that not all should be considered a security threat.
“It will depend on their activities. There are a lot of people in Canada who are not qualified to threaten Canadian security,” he said. “Many of these organizations are already on radar. So the reality is that if they start to become active, it won’t be no one knows.”
Experts say Canada is more resilient than other countries that are well-known for the United States to conduct unstable actions, but that doesn’t mean it is immune to pressure.
“We need to worry more and talk more about the medium and long term than just the important tariffs there right now,” Fardden said.
He warned whether Canada had a long economic battle and then “at some point someone had to cry.”
Although Fardden did not see a military invasion, he said: “The country’s economic and cultural controls may be equally effective.”
