Canaris, intelligence loyalty, and the Nazi state

Was Canaris’s first loyalty to fellow intelligence officers rather than to Germany?

No. Canaris is presented as loyal to Germany, supporting and later resisting the Nazi regime according to what he believed served the country.

Intelligence officers' first loyalty is to their country, even when secrecy makes that difficult for outsiders to see. Canaris is presented as an example of national loyalty diverging from regime loyalty: he supported the Nazis while he believed they benefited Germany, then opposed them when he decided they did not. In this interpretation, his changing relationship with the regime followed his view of Germany's interests rather than professional solidarity with intelligence officers. His earlier naval career provides the background to his later leadership of the Abwehr.