Note: This petition has been updated to reflect recent regional developments and ongoing security concerns. The core objective — protecting Canada’s democracy and national security from foreign interference linked to the Islamic Regime of Iran — remains unchanged.

Opening Statement

Canada has long been a refuge for those fleeing authoritarian regimes. Yet credible warnings from Canadian security agencies show that intimidation and foreign influence linked to the Islamic Regime of Iran have reached Canadian soil. When authoritarian regimes extend their reach into our communities, they threaten both individual safety and the integrity of Canada’s democracy. Protecting Canada’s sovereignty and institutions begins at home.

Updated Context

As regional conflict escalates and credible reports of repression in Iran continue, Canada must confront a difficult reality: authoritarian influence does not stop at national borders. Canada does not need to send troops or foreign aid abroad to defend democratic values. It must first defend them here — by ensuring that foreign intimidation, coercion, and influence operations cannot operate within our own country.

Protecting Canada’s democracy at home also supports those fighting for freedom in Iran and elsewhere.

The Issue

For years, security agencies, parliamentary committees, researchers, and diaspora communities have warned that Iranian regime-linked actors and networks operate within Canada. Meanwhile, activists and international observers continue to document severe repression and systemic violence in Iran, including a renewed wave of crackdowns since December 28, 2025. Internet shutdowns and censorship limit independent verification, yet consistent reports from inside the country have raised global alarm.

Canada has not been immune. Intelligence agencies report surveillance, intimidation, harassment, coercion, and influence operations targeting individuals, including public figures and members of the Iranian diaspora. Despite repeated warnings, enforcement has often been slow or insufficient. This must change.

Why This Concerns Canada

Canada has increasingly become a permissive environment for Iranian regime-linked networks. Hundreds of tips regarding suspected individuals and businesses have been reported. The Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has acknowledged that only a fraction of activity may be visible. Parliamentary committees have examined these concerns, and communities have reported intimidation linked to foreign regimes. Former federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler was reportedly the target of a foreign assassination plot disrupted by the RCMP.

Transnational repression — authoritarian governments intimidating critics abroad — is a documented global threat. If Canada does not act decisively, foreign intimidation risks becoming normalized, threatening both democracy and sovereignty.

Purpose of This Petition

This petition calls on the Government of Canada to:

• Protect Canada’s democracy and sovereignty
• End foreign intimidation targeting diaspora communities and public figures
• Close enforcement and screening loopholes
• Restore public confidence in Canada’s national security response

Canada’s democratic institutions must not remain vulnerable after years of warnings.

We Call on the Government of Canada to:

1️⃣ Publicly Address Enforcement Gaps
Provide a transparent assessment to Parliament on actions taken against Iranian regime-linked interference and identify gaps in enforcement, intelligence coordination, and immigration screening.

2️⃣ Ensure Canada Is Not a Safe Operating Environment
Investigate and, where evidence supports, prosecute or remove individuals engaged in foreign interference or transnational repression. Review suspected financial, proxy, and organizational networks, and strengthen screening to prevent entry or residency by affiliated individuals.

3️⃣ Protect Diaspora Communities
Establish a dedicated federal reporting and response mechanism. Strengthen coordination between law enforcement agencies when credible threats are identified. Increase transparency around investigations affecting Canadian communities.

4️⃣ Fully Enforce Sanctions and Terrorist Listings
Enforce all existing sanctions and terrorist designations effectively. Close loopholes that allow sanctioned individuals to operate indirectly through proxies or affiliates. Report publicly on enforcement outcomes.

5️⃣ Strengthen Democratic Safeguards
Fully implement and enforce a robust Foreign Influence Transparency Registry. Introduce legislative reforms addressing hybrid threats and transnational repression tactics.

6️⃣ Support International Accountability
Work with democratic allies to support accountability mechanisms addressing serious human rights violations and strengthen independent monitoring of abuses.

Why This Matters

Canada has long been a refuge for those fleeing authoritarian regimes. Foreign interference threatens our freedoms and democracy. Failure to act risks:

• Entrenchment of foreign influence networks
• Erosion of public trust in national security institutions
• Increased intimidation within vulnerable communities

Canada does not need military intervention abroad — it simply needs to enforce its own laws. Dismantling regime-linked networks at home limits authoritarian regimes’ ability to project power abroad, weakens their control over populations, and supports those fighting for freedom in Iran.

Addressing foreign interference also protects communities in Canada facing similar threats, including Chinese, Uyghur, Ukrainian, Iranian, Taiwanese, Sikh, and other diaspora groups. By confronting these tactics, Canada ensures all residents can speak freely without fear of intimidation.

Protecting Canada’s democracy and sovereignty is not only a domestic responsibility — it is also a meaningful contribution to global freedom.

We respectfully call on Members of Parliament and the Government of Canada to treat foreign interference and transnational repression as a national security priority requiring consistent enforcement, transparency, and accountability.

Call to Action

Canada must not allow foreign intimidation to continue to take root.

Sign and share this petition to defend Canada’s democracy, protect our communities, and uphold the freedoms that define this country. By acting at home, we also help the people of Iran fight for the freedom they deserve by weakening the regime that has oppressed them for 47 years.