To Spy, or Not to Spy: Canadian Government Consideration of a Foreign Intelligence Agency, 1945-2007
These documents comprise a selection of the main archival sources cited in:
“To Spy, or Not to Spy: Canadian Government Consideration of a Foreign Intelligence Agency, 1945-2007” by Alan Barnes, to be published in the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal.
Article Abstract: Unlike most of its key allies, the Canadian government has not created a foreign intelligence agency to spy abroad using human sources. Newly-available archival records for the first time furnish insights into the deliberations of Canadian officials and ministers on this question. Since the early 1950s, several proposals for a foreign intelligence agency have been prepared by Canadian officials, but in all cases they failed to receive government approval. By providing an understanding of how this issue has been viewed from inside government over the past eight decades, these records will inform the ongoing public debate over the pros and cons of creating a Canadian foreign intelligence agency.