A former senior intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has raised concerns that the United States may leverage intelligence sharing as a bargaining chip to pressure Canada into increasing its defence spending.
Vincent Rigby, who previously served as Trudeau’s national security and intelligence adviser, cautioned that intelligence-sharing arrangements could be at risk as former President Donald Trump’s administration pushes Canada to meet its NATO defence spending target.
“We hear so much about defense spending and the two per cent target, and what the U.S. may or may not do if we don’t step up to the plate,” Rigby said at a Canada Global Affairs Institute conference on Wednesday. “I fear that, at some point, intelligence could be used as a negotiating tool.”
Trump and several U.S. lawmakers have been vocal critics of Canada’s failure to meet its commitment of spending two per cent of its GDP on defence, a NATO benchmark. Canada currently allocates approximately 1.37 per cent of its GDP to defence, falling short of its allies. The Trudeau government has pledged to meet the two per cent threshold by 2032.
Rigby warned that the Trump administration, known for its hardline negotiating tactics, could use access to American intelligence as leverage in broader diplomatic disputes. “Some may dismiss that possibility, but from my own experience, this was not just an abstract concern during Trump’s first term. The issue came up more than once,” Rigby said. “I won’t go into specifics, but it’s a serious threat that we need to consider.”
Canada is a key member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which also includes the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. This partnership grants Canada access to critical foreign intelligence gathered by agencies such as the CIA and Britain’s MI6—resources that Canada itself lacks at scale.
Then-public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc highlighted the importance of these intelligence-sharing networks during a public inquiry into foreign interference last year. “I was struck when I became minister of public safety by how much we rely on intelligence from our allies,” LeBlanc said on February 2, 2024.
Stephanie Carvin, an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University, emphasized Canada’s reliance on intelligence imports. “There’s no question that Canada is more of an intelligence consumer than a producer,” Carvin explained. “That’s not to say what we contribute isn’t useful, but the Five Eyes partnership provides us with incredibly valuable intelligence at minimal cost.”
Canada has previously benefited from intelligence shared by the U.S. in critical counterterrorism cases. One such example was the 2016 case of Aaron Driver, a southwestern Ontario resident who had posted an online video pledging allegiance to terrorism. The FBI alerted Canadian authorities, allowing law enforcement to intervene before Driver could carry out an attack.
Rigby’s warning comes at a time of uncertainty over how the Trump administration will approach Canada-U.S. relations, particularly as defence spending and security commitments remain at the forefront of diplomatic discussions. If intelligence sharing becomes a point of contention, Canada may be forced to reconsider its approach to national security and foreign policy strategies moving forward.