History and Artifacts

History of CSIS

In 1984, the Government of Canada passed an Act of Parliament for the creation of a civilian security intelligence service. This legislation not only gave birth to CSIS, it also clarified the differences between security intelligence activities and law enforcement work, bringing to an end the 120-year interlocking of Canada's security intelligence service with the federal police force. Read more about the creation and evolution of CSIS.

Technological Artifacts Collection from the Cold War

During the Cold War era, the RCMP Security Service and, in 1984, its successor CSIS waged a war of wits with various foreign spy agencies. Both sides relied heavily on the use of technological gadgets to uncover espionage activities. In an effort to preserve the history of these activities, CSIS has assembled a collection of artifacts from the Cold War era, providing a rare glimpse of a part of Canada's history that has always remained in the shadows. View the artifacts collection.

Date modified: 2005-11-14

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