Canada’s national security challenges are not always visible, nor are they confined to events happening beyond our borders.
In this conversation, award-winning investigative journalist Sam Cooper joins Marc Patrone to discuss the reported presence of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other foreign state-linked networks in Canada. Cooper draws on his investigative reporting into foreign interference, organized crime, illicit finance and national security to explain how these networks may be using Canada as a base for their international activities.
The discussion raises difficult questions about Canada’s borders, financial systems, law enforcement capacity and political willingness to confront sophisticated networks operating within the country.
Watch the full conversation below.
Key Points From the Conversation
- Cooper describes the IRGC as a powerful military and intelligence force that supports the Iranian regime and works internationally through both official and unofficial channels.
- He says Iranian state-linked networks can overlap with organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, gangs and other proxy organizations.
- The conversation highlights reports of Iranian regime officials, operatives and family members living in Canadian cities, particularly Toronto and Vancouver.
- Cooper points to cases in which Canadian intelligence reportedly identified serious concerns, but immigration, law enforcement and government systems appeared unable to complete deportations or prosecutions.
- Canada’s borders, real estate and financial institutions are described as being vulnerable to exploitation by international criminal and state-linked networks.
- Cooper argues that drug trafficking and money laundering should be understood as national security concerns because the same networks may also support foreign interference and hostile state operations.
- The discussion examines growing concerns about how the United States views Canada’s security posture and the possible consequences for the relationship between the two countries.
- Cooper warns that Canada must strengthen its response to these networks if it is to protect its sovereignty, maintain the confidence of its allies and confront threats already operating inside the country.