Ottawa [Canada], November 14 (ANI): Canada's government and private sector are being targeted by foreign adversaries, particularly Russia and China who have 'significant interest' in Canada's Arctic region, the head of the country's spy agency has claimed as per local media.

Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told CBC's Power & Politics on Thursday (local time) that they 'definitely have to be attentive to the possibility of information operations or interference.'

China and Russia continue to target Canada for sensitive government and private-sector intelligence and high-tech goods, and are seeking to gain a strategic foothold in the Arctic, Rogers was quoted as saying in the Globe and Mail.

'Chinese spies have tried to recruit Canadians with information and military expertise,' Rogers said in his annual speech on threats to Canada, as reported by the news outlet.

China, he said, is seeking an economic foothold in the region, while Russia's Arctic posture 'remains unpredictable and aggressive.'

China also continues to target Canada's sensitive information. 'Chinese spies have tried to recruit Canadians with access to government plans, intentions, information and military expertise, through social media and online job platforms,' Rogers said according to the CBC news

Further, he alleged that Moscow was using illicit procurement schemes to purchase Canadian technology for Russia's war against Ukraine.

Rogers said the Canadian intelligence agency CSIS has informed several Canadian companies that 'Europe-based front companies seeking to acquire their goods were in fact connected to Russian agents.'

'Once in Russia, these Canadian products are then used to support Russian military efforts in Ukraine and elsewhere,' Rogers said in his speech that was quoted by Canadian local media.

Responding to queries in the CBC's interview about prospective sovereignty referendums in Alberta and Quebec, which could be potentially seen by foreign adversaries as fertile ground to interfere with a G7 country.

Rogers stated that the CSIS doesn't have a role in 'Canadians exercising their opinion,' but agreed the manipulation of information could be a vulnerability.

Further, the Director of CSIS referenced the bombing of Air India Flight 182, which killed 329 people on board, to highlight the 'consequences of violent extremism.'

'Worryingly, nearly one in ten terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18,' he said.

The Canadian intelligence chief said that the global Arctic has become a theatre of increased interest due to its economic and strategic potential. 'Non-Arctic states, including the People's Republic of China, seek to gain a strategic and economic foothold in the region. Russia, an Arctic state with a significant military presence in the region, remains unpredictable and aggressive. Both of those countries, and others, have a significant intelligence interest in our Arctic and those who influence or develop its economic or strategic potential.'

CSIS has observed both cyber and non-cyber intelligence collection efforts targeting both governments and the private sector in the region, he said.

The CSIS, its director said, had this year foiled potentially lethal threats by Iran directed against people whom Tehran sees as enemies.

'In particularly alarming cases over the last year, we've had to reprioritise our operations to counter the actions of Iranian intelligence services and their proxies who have targeted individuals they perceive as threats to their regime, Rogers said in his speech.

In more than one case, this involved detecting, investigating, and disrupting potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada, he said without elaborating.

Rogers said that Canada, being an advanced economy with an abundance of natural resources and holding privileged and influential positions in multilateral fora like NATO, the G7, and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, makes the country a target of foreign intelligence services. (ANI)