Trudeau’s security adviser warned foreign agent registry could bring pushback

In her memo last August, Jody Thomas told Justin Trudeau the discussions 'may elicit a range of reactions' - from applause to reservations.

A newly released memo shows the prime minister’s national security adviser warned him to expect some pushback from planned public consultations about a foreign agent registry, given that countries have used such registries as tools of control.

In her memo last August, Jody Thomas told Justin Trudeau the discussions “may elicit a range of reactions” – from applause to reservations.

“Concerns may be further amplified since some foreign governments, like Russia, have used ‘foreign agent registries’ to silence activists and shut down organizations critical of government,” Thomas said.

However, she said, national security experts, Canada’s allies and diaspora groups targeted by hostile states “will likely welcome these measures.”

The Canadian Press obtained the memo, marked Secret/Canadian Eyes Only, through the Access to Information Act. Portions of the document, including cabinet confidences and information about internal consultations, were withheld from release.

The memo reveals that Trudeau had a discussion last June 30 with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about “establishing a foreign agent registry in Canada and Australia’s experience in that regard.”

Australia brought in its Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act five years ago as a means of preventing outside interference in the country’s affairs.

Internationally, foreign agent registries are considered among the best practices to counter malign external influence, the memo says. The U.S. Foreign Agent Registry Act has been in place since 1938 and the United Kingdom has also moved to implement such a scheme.