OTTAWA — A Canadian naval officer who worked in some of the country’s key military intelligence centers has been charged with breach of trust and passing along government secrets to a “foreign entity.” The officer, Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle, 40, remained in jail on Tuesday after his lawyer asked a court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to delay a bail hearing to give him more time to study the government’s case.

Neither the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the military nor the government offered much detail publicly about the charges, including the identity of the foreign power. But the Canadian television network CTV said it was Russia, without giving the source for that information.

Court documents assert that the spying began four and a half years ago and continued until last Friday, when intelligence and police officials raided Lieutenant Delisle’s house in suburban Halifax.

Until last week, Lieutenant Delisle worked at Trinity, an intelligence and communication center that is part of a large naval base in Halifax. Philippe Lagassé, who teaches defense policy at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs of the University of Ottawa, said Trinity was primarily responsible for tracking the position of military ships in the Atlantic Ocean, including submarines.