Spy director says Canada ‘blocked’ Chinese acquisitions over espionage concerns

CSIS Director David Vigneault says China-backed groups have attempted to purchase “locations” close to sensitive sites over concerns of spying.

The head of Canada’s domestic spy agency says the country has blocked Chinese acquisitions of property close to “strategic” assets over espionage concerns.

David Vigneault, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said in an interview with CBS News Sunday that the agency has identified attempts by actors linked to the Chinese government to snap up locations close to sensitive Canadian assets.

“We have seen in the past acquisitions of land, acquisitions of different companies, where when you start to dig a little bit further you realize there is another intent,” Vigneault said on 60 Minutes, in a clip that aired Sunday night.

“We have seen and blocked attempts by the (People’s Republic of China, or PRC) to acquire locations near sensitive, strategic assets of the country where we knew the ultimate purpose was for spying operations.”

In the interview clip, Vigneault did not elaborate on what assets he was referring to. CSIS did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Vigneault was speaking during an unprecedented interview of security chiefs from the Five Eyes — a security partnership that includes Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. The five spymasters gathered last week at Stanford University for a panel discussion about emerging technologies and national security.

Select Canadian media outlets were invited to travel to California to attend, but were not offered an interview with the CSIS director.

While the conversation was billed as a discussion about how new technology — such as artificial intelligence or quantum computing — will affect national security, it became very clear very quickly that the intelligence chiefs were focused primarily on the Chinese government.