China is meddling in Canada’s federal elections, official report warns

Peace, Order, and Good Government. These are the principles that have defined the Canadian democracy for over 150 years. However, that could be in jeopardy.

Reuters reports that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns that China could try to undermine the country’s democracy in the following elections.

The annual report from Canada’s top spy agency claims that Beijing has tried to interfere in the past two general elections.

The Washington Post writes that China had allegedly manipulated in Canada’s elections in 2019 and 2021 to favor candidates that align to Beijing’s interests.

The Washington Post indicates that Beijing was seeking to discourage Chinese Canadians to vote for the Conservative Party, which is described as having an “anti-Beijing platform”.

Meanwhile, Ontario MP Han Dong was forced to abandon Trudeau’s Liberal Party after accusations of advising a senior Chinese diplomat to not release two Canadian nationals because it would prove right a hardliner approach towards Beijing.

CBC writes that the Prime Minister’s Office claim that Canadian intelligence services didn’t inform that Dong, now sitting as an Independent, could be an asset of the People’s Republic of China.

However, The Washington Post points out that Canadian intelligence and national security experts affirm that it’s unlikely that China had a defining factor in past federal elections.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an official inquiry about Chinese meddling on the electoral process that, despite Beijing’s efforts, China didn’t have any interference on the federal elections.

“Nothing we have seen and heard despite, yes, attempts by foreign states to interfere, those elections held in their integrity. They were decided by Canadians,” Trudeau declared to a commission.

Trudeau also claimed that it was “improbable” that Beijing had any exclusive preference over any of Canada’s political parties.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post argues that the reelection of Justin Trudeau with a minority government was the most beneficial scenario for Beijing.

Al-Jazeera writes that the official inquiry speculates that a Liberal premiership would have seen “friendlier” to Beijing, while a minority government would restrict its capacity to swiftly enact laws against China’s interests.

“While individual officials may well have expressed a preference, it just would seem very improbable that the Chinese government itself would have a preference in the election,” Trudeau defended himself, per Al Jazeera.

What is true is that, according to a Canadian intelligence report cited by Reuters, Beijing is using deceptive methods to influence policy at all levels of Canadian government, as well as in academia and the media.

CBC reveals that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service informed the Prime Minister’s Office in early 2023 that at least 11 candidates and 13 staff members were implicated in interference from the Chinese government.

Former Conservative leader Erin O’Tool believes that his party lost up to nine seats due to the meddling orchestrated by Beijing, according to the CBC.

More troubling, the CBC points out that Beijing transferred 250,000 Canadian dollars (around 180,000 US dollars) to a staff member for a 2019 election candidate and then again to an Ontario MPP.

Although large sections of the Canadian intelligence document are censored, leaving out any names, this would show a direct coordination and financial support from Beijing to members of Canada’s democratic institutions.

Canada’s next federal elections are set for October 27, 2025, where 27 million voters will pick members of the House of Commons which will define the next Prime Minister.

Could this become the last big scandal to hit Trudeau on what many Canadians regard to be the final act of his premiership?

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