Former Canadian Scientist Accused of Copying Government Documents for Beijing

A former Canadian federal scientist is charged with copying thousands of internal files, allegedly intending to share them with Chinese counterparts.

Mary Man

Published: 7/16/2026, 11:46:53 PM EDT

Former Canadian Scientist Accused of Copying Government Documents for Beijing — The Canadian flag flies over the Canadian Rockies at the Canmore Nordic Center in Canmore, Canada, on Feb. 7, 2019. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)

A former Canadian federal scientist has been accused of copying thousands of internal government documents and providing them to Beijing.

The accused, 65-year-old Dennis Lu, worked for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for almost three decades, specializing in carbon capture and decarbonization technologies, reported CBC.

Lu was arrested in 2024 and faces three charges, including two counts of unauthorized use of a computer and one count of breach of trust by a public officer, reported The Bureau. Prosecutors allege he copied over 2,000 files from a shared departmental server with the intent of sharing them with individuals associated with China.

The allegations against Lu are unproven, and his lawyers argue that Lu maintained a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding his work computer, reported The Bureau.

Intelligence Warnings

The case was first reported on Monday by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Citing court records, CBC News revealed that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had briefed NRCan about Dennis Lu at least three times between 2000 and 2021. This ultimately prompted the department to launch a secret internal investigation to monitor and search his computer.

CBC News said that the trial is scheduled to begin in Ottawa in 2027, with prosecutors arguing that Lu’s alleged infractions spanned from 2023—beginning when he took leave to travel to Taiwan and China—to the day of his arrest in 2024.

During his stay in China, he was accused of forwarding nearly 2,000 emails from his work account to his personal inbox. In early June 2023, NRCan cut off Lu's access to his work email and departmental servers, and he queried about it when he returned to Canada. A manager then ordered Lu's access reinstated so his retirement could be processed, reported CBC.

According to prosecutors, once his access was restored, Lu allegedly copied 2,414 documents from the department's shared server onto a device on July 7, 2023, and a further 188 documents from the shared drive onto a separate device on Aug. 9, 2023.

Alleged Ties to China's 'Thousand Talents Plan'

The prosecution alleges that Lu was involved in China's state-sponsored "Thousand Talents Plan," reported The Globe and Mail. The state-run plan is aimed at attracting high-level scientists, engineers, and researchers to China. Lu has denied ever participating in the program, saying that he was approached in 2009 but declined.

Additionally, the allegations state that Lu maintained employment relationships with Chinese universities and enterprises, receiving financial compensation from them while still employed by the Canadian government.

Lu worked at Natural Resources for nearly 27 years and retired in August 2023, according to the CBC.