2025 Annual Report
Celebrating 40 years of informed debate on security and intelligence issues in Canada.
Board Changes
Welcomed Elena Martynova and Darren Johnston to the Board, with Akshay Singh stepping into the Vice-President role and Nancy Clark as Director of Finance.
New Website Launch
Relaunched the CASIS website with a more modern, streamlined platform, building on the 2024 transition to Substack for newsletter communications.
Essay Contest Winners
Jacob Colatosti (undergraduate) and Hannah Javanpour, Alexandre Klaponski, Bilal Syed, Cassandra Klein, and Francis Obeso (graduate) won the CASIS-CSIS Essay Prize.
40th Anniversary Project
Grace Van Vliet, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, presented preliminary research tracing CASIS' evolution since its inception in 1985.
Partnered Events
Co-hosted two events with the International Issues Discussion forum at Toronto Metropolitan University on espionage psychology and cybersecurity geopolitics.
Five New Sponsors
Partnered with Anvil, Amazon Web Services, Gowling WLG, Strider, and TRM Labs for the 2025 Symposium.
Disorder at the Gates: Canada's Role in a Fragmenting World
The 2025 Symposium explored how Canada can strengthen its position in an increasingly unstable global landscape, with keynote speaker Michael Kovrig and four expert panels.
Keynote: Michael Kovrig
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig reflected on his three-year detention in China and the transformation of China's national security apparatus. He characterized current Canada-U.S.-China relations as a "tripocalypse" and advocated for the development of Canada's foreign intelligence capabilities, enhanced OSINT collection, and legislation to counter espionage.
Panel 1: Economic Security
Panelists stressed that economic and national security are deeply intertwined. Bill C-70 was highlighted as an important step forward, with continued need for greater public-private information sharing. Canada's foreign policy could pivot toward a more interest-based approach framed around the "4Cs" while preserving openness and strategic partnerships.
Panel 2: Crime and National Security
This panel examined the growing intersection of organized crime and state conflict, ransomware trends targeting G7 countries, and the evolution of cybercrime into a service-based model. Strategies discussed included international financial regulation, cryptocurrency oversight, and KYC protocols in crypto markets.
Panel 3: Lone Actors vs. Collective Actors
Examined the psychological, legal, and financial dimensions of lone-actor violence versus organized operations. Panelists noted the rise of youth involvement and online radicalization, and emphasized the need for a holistic approach combining psychological insight, financial monitoring, legal reform, and community engagement.
Panel 4: Intelligence Relationships
Focused on maintaining strong Five Eyes ties while diversifying alliances through intelligence diplomacy. Panelists emphasized that Canada must diversify partnerships to strengthen autonomy, while ensuring human rights and rule-of-law principles remain central to all operations.