Canada’s intelligence priorities

For over 60 years, the Government of Canada has produced classified direction to guide activities of the intelligence community – this direction takes the form of a document listing Canada’s Intelligence Priorities. The Government reviews the Intelligence Priorities every two years, and in the past, this direction was classified. With a view to increase transparency around intelligence issues and to increase public awareness of national security matters, the Security and Intelligence community has developed an unclassified version of that direction. This document outlines intelligence priorities while protecting intelligence sources and methods, and minimizing other risks to national security.  Now, for the first time, the Government is publishing its unclassified Intelligence Priorities.

Intelligence priorities and requirements

Intelligence Priorities are broad topics for which the Government requires intelligence support. The Government sets these priorities, so the intelligence community knows what to focus on, in keeping with their mandates and legal frameworks.

Global and domestic threat environments are becoming more complex. Establishing priorities focuses limited intelligence resources on the most important and urgent issues.

After Cabinet approves the Intelligence Priorities, specific ministers issue ministerial directives to their intelligence organizations. The directives explain how Cabinet expects them to perform their duties with the priorities in mind. The security and intelligence community then works with a wide range of decision makers who use intelligence to set specific Intelligence Requirements.

Intelligence Requirements are more detailed and focus on specific topics of interest that align with each Intelligence Priority. They are classified and cannot be made public to protect the activities of intelligence organizations and Canada’s national interests.

Releasing the report

Until now, only the intelligence community has had access to the Intelligence Priorities. The Priorities themselves often contained classified information because they were not meant to be released to the public.

The Government has been committed to increasing transparency around national security matters and promised to give Canadians clear and transparent information about Canada’s intelligence community.

Canada’s main intelligence organizations

The following organizations are part of Canada’s core national security and intelligence community.

• Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces
• Canadian Security Intelligence Service
• Communications Security Establishment Canada
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre
• Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre
• Canada Border Services Agency
• Global Affairs Canada
• Privy Council Office – National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister

For more information about each of these organizations’ roles, please read the Canada’s Core Intelligence Organizations section of the report.