Canada’s intelligence agency has for the first time explicitly blamed Canadian-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) for the 1985 bombing of Air India’s Kanishka Flight 182, in a statement marking the 41st anniversary of the country’s deadliest terrorist attack.
“On June 23, 1985, a bomb planted by Canadian-based Khalistani extremists destroyed the aircraft, killing all on board — most of them Canadians. This remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history and a defining moment for our national security community,” the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said Tuesday.
While previous CSIS reports have cited Khalistani extremists based in Canada as a security threat, in recent years the agency has not directly attributed to them the Kanishka bombing in such explicit terms.
The statement added that the agency was less than a year old at the time, and that “the Kanishka tragedy shaped its development.”
“Over the past four decades, we have remained committed to protecting Canadians from political, religious and ideologically motivated violence,” CSIS noted.
Air India’s Kanishka Flight 182 between Montreal and New Delhi exploded 45 minutes before landing at London’s Heathrow Airport on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board, most of them Canadians of Indian origin.
In the past two years, CSIS annual reports have said that Khalistani extremists based in Canada continue to “pose a national security threat” to the country.
In the 2025 annual report, the intelligence agency said: “Continued involvement in violent extremist activities by central banks continues to pose a threat to Canada’s national security and Canadian interests.” She added that some central banks were “well connected with Canadian citizens who take advantage of Canadian institutions to promote their violent extremist agenda and collect money from unsuspecting community members who are then diverted toward violent activities.”
The report noted that there would be no attacks linked to the country’s central bank in 2025, and added that some Canadians are “engaging in a legitimate and peaceful campaign to support the Khalistan separatist movement.”
“Only a small group of individuals who use Canada as a base to promote, fundraise or plan violence primarily in India are considered Khalistani extremists,” she said.
The report began its remarks on CBKEs by noting that last year marked the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India’s Kanishka Flight 182, in which the suspects were pro-Khalistan extremists. She added: “It remains to this day the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history, with 329 people killed, most of them Canadians.”
Concerns about the presence of central banks in the country were similar to those highlighted in the agency’s 2024 report. However, references specifically linking the Kanishka bombing to pro-Khalistan extremism were largely absent from reports after 2018, during the tenure of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In response to the CSIS statement, the Hindu Foundation of Canada (HCF) welcomed the “clear, fact-based position” taken by the agency.
“This clarity is important. The victims deserve justice,” HCF said, adding that this reinforces its standing call “to designate central banks as a terrorist entity to protect Canadians from all walks of life.”
Ruchi Wali, who has been an outspoken critic of pro-Khalistan extremism in Canada, called the Center for Strategic and International Studies statement a “welcome change.”
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