Ottawa, Canada

An investigation by Canada's domestic spy agency has found that China allegedly interfered in the country's last two elections. At an official probe on Monday (Apr 8), the agency presented the "firmest" evidence of suspected Chinese meddling in Canadian politics.

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China's 'clandestine' operations

A commission set up by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was shown a slide containing excerpts from a February 2023 briefing of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) which said: "We know that the PRC (Peoples' Republic of China) clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 elections".

"In both cases, these FI (foreign interference) activities were pragmatic in nature and focused primarily on supporting those viewed to be either 'pro-PRC' or 'neutral' on issues of interest to the PRC government," it added.

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Incidentally, the elections held in 2019 and 2021 were both won by Trudeau's Liberal Party.

Reuters reports that the Canadian leader set up the commission to look into foreign interference under pressure from opposition leaders about media reports alleging Chinese interference.

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China has denied the allegation.

"State actors are able to conduct foreign interference successfully in Canada because there are few legal or political consequences. FI is therefore low-risk and high-reward," said CSIS.

Global News previously reported the existence of this CSIS assessment.

Not done enough

Intelligence analysts and the Conservatives blame Trudeau's government for not doing enough to combat Chinese interference. 

The PM is due to testify in front of the commission on Wednesday.

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Erin O'Toole, leader of the Conservatives during the 2021 campaign, as per Reuters, estimates that Chinese interference cost his party up to nine seats. However, he added that the interference had not changed the course of the election.

A legislator with the left-leaning New Democrats told the inquiry that her criticism of Beijing led to the end of event invitations from the politically influential ethnic Chinese community.

Canada, as per the official 2021 census, is home to around 1.7 million people of Chinese descent — just under five per cent of the nation's population. 

(With inputs from agencies)