Canada taps David Johnston as interference rapporteur. Who is he, and what will he do?

According to the Prime Minister's Office, David Johnston will have a 'wide mandate' to investigate foreign interference in the last two federal elections.

David Johnston will take up the post as Ottawa’s “special rapporteur” to investigate allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections and society.

Johnston, who served as the nation’s governor general from 2010 to 2017, was named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday as the prominent Canadian who will probe the interference issue and make recommendations to the federal government on how to handle it.

The Liberal government has been under immense pressure to explain what it knew about foreign interference in the 2021 election after the Globe and Mail reported last month that intelligence sources said China attempted to interfere in that campaign to help the Liberals win another minority government.

That report came after months of revelations from Global News about allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 election.

Trudeau recently announced a slew of investigations into the matter, but the creation of the special rapporteur position was billed by the government as a key measure.

Now that Canadians know who the government’s rapporteur will be, here’s a look at Johnston’s background and the work he’s expected to do.

Johnston, 81, was named as governor general by then-Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010, and his term was extended when Trudeau was elected in 2015.

He left Rideau Hall in 2017 and currently serves as the Leaders’ Debates Commissioner, which arranges debates during Canada’s federal elections. He will step down from that position to take on the rapporteur role, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on Wednesday.