Canada : The National Cybersecurity Agency’s Budget Has Nearly Doubled in Three Years

In Canada, Caroline Xavier, head of the Communications Security Establishment (CST)—the federal agency responsible for cybersecurity—spoke on June 28, 2025, to Radio-Canada about the agency’s increased resources. Over the past three years, the CST’s budget has nearly doubled, rising from 859 million Canadian dollars (€536 million) in 2022 to just over 1.6 billion Canadian dollars (€1 billion) in 2025.

Strengthening Canada’s defense capabilities remains a top priority for the federal government, and this momentum is expected to accelerate in the years ahead. Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to raise federal military spending to 150 billion Canadian dollars (€94 billion) by 2035, representing 5% of GDP—up from the current 62.7 billion Canadian dollars (€39 billion).

The CST operates under the Department of National Defence and is responsible, among other things, for cyber intelligence as well as offensive and defensive cyber operations. Among the agency’s short-term priorities, Caroline Xavier highlights:

• Cybersecurity education for Indigenous peoples;
• Defending sovereignty over the Arctic, threatened by Russia and China;
• Cyber efforts against organized crime and drug trafficking;
• Protecting Canada from cyberattacks originating from foreign states.