Canada Under Siege: Sparking a National Dialogue on Security and Corruption

Op-Ed: Authors, Parliamentarians and Security Experts Rally for Ottawa Conference.

By Garry Clement, and Dean Baxendale

Canada is under siege — and most Canadians don’t even know it. Foreign interference, organized crime, opaque money flows, and state-backed influence operations are not distant threats. They are here, in our communities, our financial system, and even our political processes. They are undermining our sovereignty, corroding trust in our institutions, and shaping policies in ways that put the interests of hostile states and criminal networks ahead of those of Canadians.

This is no longer speculation. It is documented. It is systemic. And it is happening in plain sight.

To bring these dangers into the open, we are launching a national conversation through a press conference and public platform hosted by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. On October 8 in Ottawa, we will introduce these threats to the national agenda. The event coincides with the release of our new book, Canada Under Siege: How Prince Edward Island Became a Forward Operating Base for the PRC, co-authored by Michel Juneau-Katsuya, Dean Baxendale, and myself. The book traces how Canada’s smallest province became a beachhead for Chinese state-linked influence operations.

Through real estate acquisitions, immigration and investor programs, and targeted political donations, foreign state actors — particularly the People’s Republic of China — have leveraged PEI as a soft entry point to the Canadian political and economic system. The island has become, in effect, a forward operating base for Chinese threat actors — and Canada looked away as it happened.

For too long, Canada has been complacent — willfully blind to malign influence operations, hostile state actors, and the domestic enablers who profit from weak laws and lax enforcement. Our financial system remains a magnet for dirty money, with beneficial ownership hidden behind shell companies. Our sanctions regime is inconsistently enforced, allowing sanctioned individuals and entities to move assets into Canada with impunity. Our immigration system has been exploited by corrupt actors who see Canada not as a home, but as a safe haven for assets and influence.

Ordinary Canadians are paying the price — housing unaffordability as foreign funds inflate markets; national security risks as critical infrastructure and technology sectors are infiltrated or acquired; and erosion of trust as Canadians lose faith in institutions that fail to protect them.

This national conversation will be evidence-based and solutions-focused. At the event we will assemble a distinguished group of experts — including former Prince Edward Island MP Wayne Easter; Senator Leo Housakos, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who will address Canada’s lack of action on national-security threats; Kevin Vuong, former Member of Parliament; LGen (Ret’d) Christopher Coates; Dean Baxendale, President of Optimum Publishing and democracy advocate; and Garry Clement, former RCMP Superintendent — to map the threat landscape and chart a practical, actionable path forward to safeguard Canada’s sovereignty, democracy and economy.

Canada must stop being a soft target. We must strengthen transparency laws to expose foreign funding, lobbying efforts, and beneficial ownership of Canadian assets; enforce sanctions and anti-money-laundering measures so dirty money cannot quietly flow into our economy; equip our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the legal tools, resources, and political backing they need to disrupt and prosecute interference operations; and educate and engage Canadians so the public understands what is happening — and demands accountability from government and institutions.

The launch of Canada Under Siege and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s platform represent a turning point. This is our chance to move beyond whispers, beyond closed-door briefings, beyond the false comfort of “this could never happen here.” The threats to Canada’s democracy are real. They are here. And they are growing.

We believe Canadians deserve the truth — and a plan to confront it. This initiative will give them both. Canada has faced existential threats before, and we have always prevailed. But only when we recognized the danger, mobilized our citizens, and acted decisively.

The time to act is now.