Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand delivers a speech at the Global Heads of Mission Meeting in Ottawa on June 1, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Global Affairs Canada dismissed 25 Canadian diplomats in 2025, including one who was secretly in contact with a foreign government.
The dismissals stemmed from a range of misconduct investigations, including security concerns, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and potentially criminal activity, according to the department’s annual report on misconduct.
Among those dismissed was one who was found to be “in contact inappropriately with foreign government officials,” according to the report, which was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.
The report, dated June 25, said that an investigation called the employee’s reliability into question, and their employment was terminated. Another diplomat dismissed last year had been found “working remotely in a country of concern without authorization.” The country was not named.
The department said it is relying on whistleblowers to report suspicious activities.
“The steady willingness of employees to come forward with concerns and report potential misconduct and wrongdoing may reflect growing confidence that issues will be taken seriously and addressed appropriately in our department,” department officials wrote. The department counted 227 complaints in 2025, up from 218 in 2024. A total of 92 complaints were upheld. Besides the 25 diplomats fired, 11 resigned “before disciplinary action could be taken,” according to the report. Three were let go after they were found exploiting their employment to “engage in serious unlawful activities of a potentially criminal nature.” Another employee was dismissed after lying about being involved in an accident while driving a department vehicle, and then having it repaired at an unauthorized garage. Two department employees were terminated after accessing client files without proper authorization, while a third employee was dismissed for approving an application without “identifying a potential risk that could have posed a public safety concern.”
One employee was found to have “engaged in inappropriate behaviour by throwing an object at a colleague” and two were fired after they “engaged in an altercation with a colleague in the workplace, causing physical injuries.”
Other employees received written reprimands, rather than being dismissed, for infractions such as using disrespectful language toward colleagues, violating the dress code and road safety rules, and using reward points and discounts from their manager’s personal rewards card to make purchases.
Global Affairs did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment before publication time.
