Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took an important step toward the long-term defence of Canada and Ukraine.
asserted
Carney → take → Canada
The new long-term Canada-Ukraine partnership will expand co-operation on the joint production of drones, counter-drone technologies and priority munitions.
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partnership → expand → drones
Such investments help Ukraine protect its cities while strengthening Canada’s own defence-industrial capacity through Ukraine’s hard-earned battlefield expertise.
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Ukraine → help → expertise
But helping Ukraine resist Russian aggression abroad must be matched by a willingness to impose consequences on the Russian state and its agents here in Canada.
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Ukraine → help → Canada
That means continuing to pursue accountability for Russian war criminals and scrutinizing the unusually large Russian official presence in Canada.
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That → mean → Canada
Parliamentary testimony has put that presence at more than 60 Russian diplomats.
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testimony → put → diplomats
But it would be equally naïve to ignore Russia’s long-standing use of diplomatic postings as cover for intelligence and influence operations.
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it → ignore → operations
Those who abuse diplomatic status to undermine Canadian security should be expelled.
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who → abuse → security
In August, a man walking in front of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa approached a blue and a yellow balloon on a pole left outside by anti-war protesters.
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man → walk → protesters
He punctured them and walked away.
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He → puncture → them
The video posted on X by Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev would be almost comic if the context were not so serious.
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context → post → Grozev
Grovez identified the culprit as a Russian diplomat.
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Grovez → identify → diplomat
Canada’s security service (CSIS) has previously warned us about the hostile activities targeting Canada that the Russian mission is engaged in.
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mission → warn → that
A recent Senate Standing Committee on Security and Defence report concluded that in Canada, “Russian disinformation has been growing and evolving at a rapid pace.”
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disinformation → conclude → pace
These disinformation activities are designed to sow discord in our society and create or increase social fractures that challenge our democratic institutions.
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that → design → institutions
They include but are not limited to seeking to discredit Canada’s Ukrainian community by branding it as “neo-Nazi;” blaming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for Russia’s genocidal full-scale invasion of Ukraine; spreading falsehoods about the West’s response to its aggressions and more.
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They → include → aggressions
These narratives are designed to erode Canadian public support for Ukraine and to delegitimize and incite hate towards Canadians of Ukrainian heritage.
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narratives → design → heritage
The hate that such narratives seek to incite has violently manifested itself.
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narratives → seek → itself
In February 2022, Toronto’s Future Bakery was vandalized with pro-Russian graffiti, including the words “Russia is power.”
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Russia → vandalize → words
Weeks later, its Stand With Ukraine banner was slashed and splattered with paint.
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banner → stand → paint
When a “diplomat” from the Russian mission is filmed engaging in petty vandalism of Ukrainian-coloured protest symbols placed on public property, outside the Russian Embassy, it both illustrates and reinforces the atmosphere of contempt for the Canadian value of freedom of expression and intimidation that Kremlin disinformation operations seek to create.
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operations → film → that
Canada needs to act publicly to address such activities.
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Canada → need → activities
And previous governments have done so.
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governments → do → ?
For example, in 2018, Ottawa expelled four Russian diplomatic staff who were identified as intelligence officers or as individuals who used diplomatic status to undermine Canadian security or interfere in our democracy.
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who → expel → democracy
Investigative journalist Justin Ling later told Parliament that Kalinin had repeatedly tried to seed stories about alleged Ukrainian Nazis in Canada and had actively sought to defame then Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
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Kalinin → tell → Freeland
Ling described the embassy as a hub for Russian disinformation operations and said Kalinin was expelled for his involvement in them.
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Kalinin → describe → them
Kalinin’s expulsion should have set a precedent — that diplomats who abuse their status to run disinformation warfare against Canadians will not be tolerated — but after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Canada stopped using expulsions as a tool through which to impose consequences.
Canada does not need to sever diplomatic relations with Russia to act.
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Canada → set → Russia
It should review Russia’s diplomatic footprint, in close consultation with CSIS and allied intelligence services, and reduce it where officials are believed to be conducting intelligence, intimidation, disinformation or other activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.
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officials → review → status
Estonia offers a useful model for what Canada should do.
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Canada → offer → what
Shortly after Russian diplomats in Estonian helped organize the deadly 2007 Bronze Soldier riots in Tallinn, Estonia repeatedly denied entry in 2009 to Johan Bäckman, a Finnish Kremlin-aligned activist known for hostile, Stalinist attacks on Estonia and for denying the Soviet Russian occupation.
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Estonia → organize → occupation
In March 2022, Estonia expelled three Russian diplomats for directly undermining its security and spreading propaganda justifying Russia’s war.
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Estonia → expel → war
Weeks later, it expelled 14 Russian consular staff, including seven diplomats.
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it → expel → diplomats
And in August 2025, Estonia expelled a Russian Embassy first secretary for what its foreign ministry described as activities undermining Estonia’s constitutional order and seeking to divide Estonian society.
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ministry → expel → society
Estonia has made it clear that foreign representatives who abuse their presence to undermine the state or target its society will face predictable consequences.
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who → make → consequences
Former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves put it plainly when we asked him about the Ottawa incident: “We have seen similar behaviour by Russian ‘diplomats’ throughout Europe and indeed by the Russian embassy staff in Washington, D.C. as well.
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We → put → Washington
Foreign diplomats are not allowed to engage in political activity in the country where they are accredited.
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they → allow → country
Vandalism already calls for a PNG designation.”
Canada knows that a clear strong response to Russian intimidation is needed.
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response → call → intimidation
In its formal response to a 2023 House of Commons recommendation, the government of the day agreed that Russian diplomats engaged in activities that are inconsistent with their official status should be expelled.
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that → agree → status
also noted that Canada can declare a foreign representative persona non grata under the Vienna conventions and is not required to explain that decision publicly.
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Canada → note → decision
Canada should apply that standard now.
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Canada → apply → standard
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
