Secure Line

What happens when foreign interference isn’t just about disinformation, espionage, or covert influence—but about money?
In this episode of Secure Line, Stephanie Carvin and Leah West are joined by Jessica Davis to discuss illicit political finance and the vulnerabilities in Canada’s political finance system. Using the Alberta referendum as a starting point, they examine gaps in political finance rules, the role of nonprofits and third-party actors, and the challenges of identifying foreign money and influence before it shapes political processes.
The conversation moves from Russian influence operations and financially motivated online “rage bait” to the growing concerns surrounding overt American involvement in Canadian politics. The hosts also explore why Canada’s existing laws and institutions can struggle to respond: some activities fall into regulatory gaps, some carry little more than financial penalties, and others may be politically consequential without being criminal at all.
Finally, Jessica explains her emerging framework for understanding illicit political finance through its actors, objectives, and methods—and why putting finance at the centre of the analysis could help Canada better anticipate, identify, and disrupt foreign interference.

Secure Line returns for Season Four with a look at how online extremist narratives are shaping attitudes toward women and 2SLGBTQI+ communities in rural Eastern Ontario. Stephanie Carvin and Leah West discuss the findings of a multi-year research project funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada, which combines analysis of approximately 9,000 hours of online content with interviews and roundtables involving frontline social workers.
The research identifies a sharp increase in misogynistic and anti-trans content beginning around 2022, alongside reports of growing resistance to Pride events, gender-based violence services, sex education, and other community initiatives. The episode explores how global narratives are reinforced by local influencers, how social media can normalize pre-existing prejudices, and how geographic isolation and limited public services intensify the consequences for people living in rural communities. Jessica Davis also examines how influencers monetize extremist content—and how donations allow supporters to strengthen their own identification with these movements.
Finally, the hosts consider what governments can realistically do about content that is harmful but not necessarily unlawful, including platform regulation, digital-safety oversight, civil remedies, education, and alternatives to youth social-media bans.

In this emergency episode, the team examines the deadly attack targeting ILO's Montreal headquarters and what it reveals about Canada's evolving extremist threat landscape. They unpack the perpetrator's manifesto, the convergence of misogynistic, anti-capitalist and conspiratorial ideologies, why they believe the attack should be understood as terrorism, and the troubling lack of public and political recognition of misogyny as a driver of violent extremism. The discussion also explores media narratives, prevention efforts, and what Canada must do to better address this growing threat.

In the season three finale, hosts Steph, Leah, and Jess share their summer reading lists with a national security flavour, along with personal updates and summer plans. They might not be what you think of as traditional beach reads, but these books have it all for Secure Line listeners. 
Steph is calling in from the south of France, where she's spending 12 weeks on an intensive French language course (DELF B2 level). Her reads reflect her immersion: a French graphic novel history of Russia (Un Russe), a novel about a teacher helping refugees learn French (Francais Long Etranger), and Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express — in French. She also shares an advance copy of J.M. Berger's upcoming thriller The Pope's Hitman(described as "John Wick meets the Conclave"), and plugs her own newly released book on the Canadian far right, For Blood and Soil.
Jess recommends Patrick Radden Keefe's London Falling (narrative nonfiction about a man impersonating a Russian kleptocrat's son), Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower/Talentsduology, Corey Doctorow's The Bevel, and David McWilliams' A History of Money.
Leah is revisiting Brave New World through the lens of AI and modern politics, reading Sarah Isgur's Last Branch Standing on the US Supreme Court, and has just picked up The Double Black Box by national security lawyer Ashley Deeks on AI and democratic accountability.
The episode wraps with summer plans: Leah is finishing a book and training for the Chicago Marathon. Jess is wrapping up travel, doing consulting work, playing pickleball, and editing her third book (pending peer reviews!). Steph is returning to Ottawa after four months of travel and launching several new research projects, some of which are super secret that she won’t even tell her cohosts about.

In this episode of Secure Line, the hosts unpack the federal government’s proposed new Financial Crimes Agency and what it could mean for the future of financial crime enforcement in Canada. Jessica Davis explains why Canada’s current fragmented approach—largely dependent on the RCMP’s overstretched federal policing mandate—has repeatedly failed to prioritize complex financial crime investigations, making the creation of a dedicated agency both necessary and long overdue. The discussion explores the proposed agency’s broad mandate, including money laundering, major fraud, capital market crimes, and proceeds of crime recovery, while also examining major challenges around staffing, organizational culture, coordination with the RCMP, and the risk of bureaucratic competition. The hosts debate whether the new agency represents meaningful reform or simply another layer added to Canada’s already complicated security architecture. 

The episode also examines major proposed changes to Canada’s Elections Act, particularly measures designed to counter foreign interference and illicit political finance. Leah West outlines new provisions targeting intimidation, foreign funding, misinformation, and third-party influence during elections, while Jessica Davis highlights what may be one of the most significant yet under-discussed developments: an effective prohibition on cryptocurrency donations to political parties, candidates, and third parties. The hosts connect these reforms to broader debates around crypto regulation, foreign interference, and financial transparency, including proposals to ban cryptocurrency ATMs in Canada due to their growing use in fraud and scams. 

Throughout the episode, the conversation reflects on what these legislative developments reveal about the Carney government’s broader national security posture. While the hosts remain cautious about unresolved issues—particularly RCMP reform and implementation challenges—they describe a noticeable shift toward more serious, sustained engagement with national security, financial crime, and foreign interference issues across party lines. The episode balances skepticism with an unusually optimistic tone, framing these reforms as evidence that Canadian policymakers may finally be beginning to “quietly care” about national security in a more meaningful and operational way. 

For more on the proposed financial crimes agency: https://www.readtheline.ca/cp/196965025