( CNN ) -- The United States -- in partnership with its ally Canada -- spied during a pair of major 2010 summits of world leaders in Toronto , CBC reported , citing top secret documents obtained from whistleblower Edward Snowden . Both the G8 and G20 summits were held in June 2010 in Canada 's most populated city . And both times , America 's National Security Agency conducted widespread surveillance that was `` closely coordinated with the Canadian partner , '' according to CBC 's account of a briefing note from the U.S. spy agency . The multi-day spying operation focused at making sure meeting sites were safe , protecting against terrorist threats and `` providing support to policymakers , '' a NSA briefing document states , according to the Canadian news outlet . The National Security Agency and the office of Director of National Intelligence , President Barack Obama 's top intelligence adviser , did not respond Thursday to CNN requests for comment on the CBC report . Ottawa 's Communications Security Establishment Canada , or CSEC , did not comment to the CBC , according to that news outlet . When similar reports have surfaced in the past . U.S. government officials have pointed to the Obama-ordered review of America 's intelligence gathering -- which gained steam after reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been spied on -- but refused to comment on specific claims . But they also have not backed away from the idea that the U.S. spies , just like other nations do . `` As we have made clear , ... the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations , '' said NSA spokeswoman Caitlin Haden in October , when the Merkel reports stirred tensions between traditional allies in Germany and the United States . The new CBC reporting does not specify which world leaders , if any , were targeted during the G8 and G20 summits , or what specific information may have been obtained . Nor does the Canadian news outlet 's account of the NSA documents spell out what role , if any , the CSEC had in it . If that Canadian agency had been complicit in snooping on anyone -- be they Canadians or foreign nationals -- without a warrant , it could violate that North American nation 's laws , the CBC reports . G8 summits are meetings of world leaders from the Britain , Canada , France , Germany , Japan , Russia , the European Union and the United States . G20 summits incorporate a larger group , traditionally taking place once or twice each year . During these meetings , leaders traditionally discuss a wide range of important and sometimes hot-button issues . At the end of 2010 's G8 summit in Toronto , for example , the group issued a final statement focusing on recovery from a global economic crisis while also criticizing Iran and North Korea . The fact that Snowden is linked to the CBC 's report is n't a big surprise . The now 30-year-old worked as an information technology contractor for the U.S. government . He collected information on his native country 's spy programs , then exposed them to media outlets such as the Guardian and the Washington Post . Some of the reported leaks -- like that the National Security Agency mined phone and Internet metadata from thousands of people inside and outside of the United States -- put the Obama administration on the defensive , trying to justify its spying programs while assuring Americans of their privacy . Others , like the claims that Merkel was spied on for years , forced Washington to do damage control with leaders of countries overseas . U.S. authorities have charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property . But they have n't arrested him : Instead , he is in Russia , which on August 1 granted him asylum for one year . This is n't the first time that documents from Snowden have been linked to G20 spying . Britain 's electronic intelligence agency monitored G20 delegates ' phones and tried to capture their passwords during a summit held there in 2009 , the Guardian newspaper reported , citing documents obtained from Snowden .
CBC says it obtained a top secret NSA document from Edward Snowden . It says the U.S. conducted surveillance during the G8 , G20 summits in Toronto . This was `` closely coordinated with the Canadian partner , '' the NSA says , reports CBC . U.S. agencies have n't responded to comment on this report .