Fadden spent his career as a civil servant, beginning in 1978 as a Foreign Service Officer in the
Department of External Affairs. Several others have criticized Fadden for his remarks, especially since they were in a CBC National interview released just before the G8 and G20 summits in Ontario; the interview was conducted earlier in the year, after the CBC approached Fadden to repeat statements he had made in a private (albeit videotaped) speech at the
Royal Canadian Military Institute. Although no countries were named, the
National Post,
Globe and Mail,
CBC,
CTV, and several other Canadian media outlets have speculated that Fadden is referring to
China. In April 2013, it was announced that Fadden would step down from his position on May 13 to become Deputy Minister of National Defence. Deputy Director of Operations
Michel Coulombe was designated as Fadden's replacement, in an interim role until a new director is appointed.
National Security Adviser Fadden was appointed
National Security Adviser in early 2015 by
Stephen Harper. As national security and intelligence adviser, Fadden's "insistence that foreign powers, notably the
Chinese Communist Party, had cultivated agents of influence at various levels of government in Canada" hurt his standing with the
Liberal Party of Canada, which became the governing party of Canada in late 2015. Fadden was replaced by
Daniel Jean, who lacked experience in either national security or intelligence. Fadden's concerns have since been borne out by a series of revelations, including a
Financial Times investigation that cast light on "an internal document prepared by the overseas section of Beijing’s United Front Works Department" that showed how China was influencing electoral politics in foreign countries. ==Honours==