As the United States and Israel press their military campaign against Iran deep into its third week, a fresh alarm has been sounded north of the border.
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman has warned that at least 700 agents from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are active inside Canada, raising serious fears of spillover threats right here in North America.
The IRGC, long designated a terrorist organization by Canada and the U.S., has been a key pillar of Tehran’s power. With American and Israeli airstrikes pounding Iranian targets—from Tehran to Bandar Abbas—and Iran firing back at U.S. assets and Gulf allies, the conflict has already interrupted global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and driven crude prices above $100 a barrel.
Casualties are mounting on all sides, with hundreds killed in Iran and reports of injuries and deaths among U.S. forces and in neighboring countries.
Lantsman, MP for Thornhill, told the House that at least 700 IRGC agents are operating in Canada, noting that the figure indicates only those known to be operating.
“We have 700 IRGC agents, whom we know about, who are currently active in this country,” she told the House.
Also Read: Global Stocks Expected to Drop as IRGC Claims Total Control of Strait of Hormuz
She pointed out that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree couldn’t ascertain if more than one had actually been expelled, despite years of intelligence pointing to the problem.
Lantsman’s revelation is being considered scary news for many Iranian Canadians who fled the regime’s crackdowns. She described getting desperate calls from constituents hiding in their cars, blurring backgrounds, and blocking numbers out of terror that regime operatives could be secretly watching.
According to Lantsman, senior IRGC figures are, in most cases, spotted working out in neighborhood gyms, eating at high-end steakhouses, and sending their kids to local universities—all while the mullahs’ influence reaches into Canadian communities.
Violence has already touched these neighborhoods, Lantsman noted: kidnappings, intimidation, and possible murders linked to the regime’s enforcers. With the war raging south of the border, the fear is that these agents could act as sleeper cells, fundraising for Tehran, spreading propaganda, or worse—retaliating against dissidents or soft targets amid the chaos.
The MP went further and directly called upon Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to take action and to act fast before these agents start wreaking havoc. She wants all agents gone after and deported back to Iran or any other country where they hail from, as soon as possible.
Also Read: Trump Reveals Possible U.S. Intelligence Gaps, Narrates How Iran Caught America by Surprise
“I want the government to commit today to expelling every single regime agent who has made Canada their own playground,” she urged. She exhorted Liberals who once rallied behind the “Woman, Life, Freedom” slogan during Iran’s recent protests to live up to it now by rooting out these operatives so the phrase means something on Canadian soil.
Government response
The government insisted that investigations are ongoing and that removals occur through legal channels. Officials say visas have been revoked for hundreds of suspected regime-linked individuals, and about two dozen face deportation proceedings.
However, Lantsman and other critics maintain that the pace at which the government takes action is too slow, whereby only a handful are removed after years of warnings.
Trump Calls
President Trump has been urging key allies to deploy their military assets and manpower to help in securing the Gulf and stopping Iran from interfering with commercial shipments. The U.S. has kept Canada informed, but Ottawa has ruled out joining the strikes.
Still, with Iranian proxies weakened and Tehran lashing out regionally, security experts worry Canada could become a convenient base for influence operations or revenge plots.
For Iranian exiles living in fear, and for ordinary Canadians watching oil prices spike and the war drag on, the presence of hundreds of IRGC agents feels like a direct link between distant battles and home-front risks.
As of today, March 17, it is not clear where the Canadian government will carry out the mass expulsions it has demanded.
