After seven years in the role, David Vigneault is retiring as director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the news on X on Thursday, wishing Vigneault the best in his next chapter.
“David Vigneault has spent his entire career in the service of Canadians — keeping them, and our national interests, safe from those seeking to harm them,” LeBlanc wrote.
In a statement, Vigneault said it had been a privilege to be CSIS director and to spend two decades in the public service.
“I’m extremely proud of the work that my team and I have accomplished in recent years at CSIS, bringing the organization out of the shadows, and shedding light on the important and valuable role we play in protecting Canadians against foreign interference and threats to national security,” he wrote. “This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding period (sic) in my career.”
Vigneault added that with the agency celebrating its 40th anniversary on July 16, “the time has come to pass the baton to a successor.”
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He became the ninth director of CSIS in June 2017 after holding roles at both the Canada Border Services Agency and the Privy Council Office.
During Vigneault’s time as director of CSIS, he has faced questions about foreign interference and told the commission probing the matter that he had made stark warnings on threats publicly multiple times.
After assuming the role of director in 2017, he stressed that the threat of foreign interference operations was a problem for not only Canadian elections but also multiple levels of government, private business and research and development.
Vigneault again weighed in last month on foreign interference before the House of Commons’ public safety committee over allegations that some parliamentarians had aided foreign states like China and India. At the time he suggested party leaders could disallow any of their MPs suspected of collusion from running for the party again or even expulsion from caucus.
He has also faced issues within his agency, with an annual report in May showing it dealt with 24 harassment investigations in 2023 involving staff complaints. In December of last year, he made a commitment before a town hall for all staff to create a ombudsperson position to address such issues.
LeBlanc did not say who would replace Vigneault as head of CSIS.
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