CAF member charged with leaking secrets is an intelligence operator who advised military leadership
The Canadian Armed Forces member arrested and charged with passing highly sensitive government secrets to a foreign entity this week is an intelligence operator who has served in the military for more than two decades and was placed on desk duty in 2024.
And the tip that led to Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar being charged with leaking information came from a complaint within the Forces rather than from Canada’s allies, the military said Friday.
Colonel Eric Leblanc, deputy commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group, said in an interview the Forces “got an internal complaint in 2024.” He said it did not come from allies.
This is different from 2012, when another Canadian Forces intelligence staffer, Jeffrey Delisle, was charged with communicating secrets to a foreign entity. It later emerged the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had tipped off Canada about Mr. Delisle, who later pled guilty and was jailed.
Col. Leblanc on Friday declined to reveal which foreign country or foreign entity was allegedly involved in this case.
But he did say there’s always the possibility that others could be charged in what is an ongoing investigation.
MWO Robar, a member of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, has been charged with multiple offences under both Canada’s foreign interference and security of information laws, as well as the National Defence Act and the Criminal Code.
None of the accusations have been proven in court.
Canadian Forces Intelligence Command is a sprawling organization within the military. But Col. LeBlanc said Thursday MWO Robar’s role was as an intelligence operator. They provide commanders and senior leaders with information to make decisions. In addition, they conduct research, provide briefings, answer questions, and provide various types of graphic intelligence products.
Intelligence operators gather information for military operations and may be assigned to deployments.
The arrest and charges stem from a joint operation between the Canadian Forces Military Police and the RCMP that the two organizations described Thursday as a probe into “foreign interference and security of information.”
This case emerges at a time of heightened concerns about foreign interference from Russia, China, Iran and India, and other countries. A lengthy public inquiry into foreign interference tabled its final report at the start of 2025.
Col. Leblanc said MWO Robar, who was arrested Dec. 10, is in military custody awaiting an appearance before a military court judge. He said this would be like a civilian court “show cause” appearance where a judge would decide whether to keep the accused in jail or release them with conditions.
The Forces took protective measures as soon as they were alerted to this alleged breach.
Col. Leblanc said that after complaint was received in 2024, MWO Robar was removed from regular duties as a protective measure. “The member was placed immediately in an administrative role where obviously access to sensitive information and things were protected.”
The Department of National Defence declined to release full biographical information for MWO Robar, with spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin only saying he “has been a regular member of the Canadian Armed Forces since 2001.”
She defended National Defence’s conduct by citing the fact the accused is facing charges. “No further information regarding MWO Robar will be released at this time in order to respect the integrity of the judicial process that is currently under way and to protect safeguarded information and programs that may relate to the particulars of these charges,” Ms. Poulin said.
The accusations could invite scrutiny of how effectively Canada safeguards not only its own military secrets, but those of allies shared with Canadians through the Five Eyes network, which includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Jody Thomas, a former deputy minister of national defence, who later served as national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister, said Canada is likely calling allies now to inform them of the extent of secret breach that took place, and the damage assessment and efforts to mitigate things.
“Five Eyes will certainly be called and potentially NATO allies,” Ms. Thomas said of the outreach that Canada is likely making to countries that share intelligence with Ottawa.
The Department of National Defence defended Canada’s relationship with its allies Friday.
“Canadian Forces Intelligence Command has a strong and valuable relationship with its Five Eyes partners that remains unaffected by the arrest and charging of Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar,” Ms. Poulin said.
Hailey Muir, a retired Canadian Armed Forces sergeant who trained and taught with Mr. Robar at the Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence, or CFSMI, at CFB Kingston, said she was stunned at the allegations against her former colleague.
“It’s a shocker, because you just don’t expect this from people who’ve been vetted and taken oaths of loyalty and supported the same organizational goals,” she said. “He was a really good dude.”
To become a Master Warrant Officer in the military’s counter-intelligence unit, he would have gone through an intensive security screening process by CSIS that would have flagged any potential risks, she said. He would have had access to top-secret documents that revealed the identities of confidential intelligence sources, Ms. Muir said.
She recalled Mr. Robar as an ambitious, outgoing intelligence officer who was eager to be deployed overseas. He was smart, well-liked by his colleagues and had a lot of friends, she said. The last time she saw him was on a deployment in Kuwait around 2015, she said.
“He had a ton of respect,” Ms. Muir said. “He just didn’t seem like a guy who would betray the people he’s working with.”
A man with the same name as MWO Robar was most recently stationed at the Canadian embassy in Serbia, according to a list of diplomatic missions posted by the Serbian government.
