November 10, 2026
SHARE
Canadaland Politics
#207 Is It Time for Canada to Start Spying on the U.S.?
Canada is the only Five Eyes country without a foreign intelligence service like the CIA or MI6, but that might be about to change.
Sam Konnert
Producer/Host
Bruce Thorson
Senior Producer
Caleb Thompson
Audio Editor
Jesse Brown
Host & Publisher

Last week’s federal budget gave CSIS $6 billion over ten years, and the Prime Minister’s top security adviser said the government plans to change the law so CSIS can spy abroad.

Managing editor Harrison Lowman talks to Phil Gurski, a 32-year veteran of Canadian intelligence, who has spent years arguing that Canada needs its own CIA. Do we even need a foreign intelligence service? What would spying abroad actually look like? And should Canada be tapping the phones of its allies?

Plus: a former Desjardins CEO runs to replace Steven Guilbeault, Carney skips Washington and COP31 for a global summit tour that ends in China, and Elizabeth May backs a petition to legalize non-sexual public nudity.

Host: Sam Konnert

Credits: Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and post production), Jesse Brown (Editor in Chief), Tony Wang (Artwork)

 

Guests: Phil Gurski

 

Background reading:

 

Sponsors: 

Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today at douglas.ca/canadaland

 

oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free! 

 

Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.ca

 

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

 

Make sure you’re up to date on our upcoming events by going to canadaland.com/live!

 

Can’t get enough Canadaland? Follow us @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram and @Canadaland_Media on TikTok!

More from this series
Canada is the only Five Eyes country without a foreign intelligence service like the CIA or MI6, but that might be about to change.
November 10, 2026
We were going to be the EU’s first “associate member.” And, yada yada yada, we got an “Alliance for the Future.”
November 3, 2026
In 2005, Canada’s leaders agreed to a $5.1-billion plan to close the gap for Indigenous people. Three days later, the government fell, and the deal died with it.
October 27, 2026
If you’re young enough, the Canada everyone is fighting tooth and nail to save is a country you’ve mostly heard about but never lived in or experienced.
October 20, 2026
Host Noor Azrieh sits down with Premier Smith to ask what she’s prepared to do if the vote goes through, and how much responsibility she takes for getting Alberta to this point. 
October 13, 2026
It took Danielle Smith (basically) a year to get her new West Coast pipeline from Ottawa - a massive project with a price tag between 35 to 44 billion dollars.
October 6, 2026
An interview with Green Party leader Elizabeth May.
September 29, 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney came into office promising to turn Canada into an investment destination. One of the biggest tests of that promise is happening in Saskatchewan.
September 22, 2026
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
Canadaland Politics