Former Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown to appear at committee probing foreign interference

Former Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown says he will appear before a House committee looking into foreign interference.

The House of Commons standing committee on public safety and national security is looking into allegations that agents of the Government of India have engaged in electoral interference and criminal activities in Canada. Last week, MPs on that committee summoned Brown, currently mayor of Brampton, Ont., after he declined previous invitations.

In a social media post on Monday, Brown said he has now agreed to appear before the committee — although he still questions whether his testimony would be useful to the committee.

"I have no new evidence to contribute to the committee's proceedings and am concerned that my appearance has been sought for political reasons," he said in the statement.

He argued that the public inquiry into foreign interference being led by Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue would have been a more appropriate venue. He said he was never contacted by Hogue to testify.

Agents of the Indian government allegedly attempted to derail Brown's campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2022, according to sources who spoke to Radio-Canada.

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) cited "India's alleged interference in a Conservative Party of Canada leadership race" in its explosive report on foreign interference. A redacted version of that report was made public in June 2024.

"CSIS did not advise the Conservative Party of Canada of any intelligence suggesting there was foreign interference in the leadership contest," Sarah Fischer, director of communications for the Conservative Party, said at the time. "This is the first time we have heard about it."

Radio-Canada has no evidence indicating that Pierre Poilievre, now the Conservative leader, was aware of the alleged actions of India's agents. He handily won the 2022 leadership race on the first ballot with 68 per cent of the available points. Poilievre's office told Radio-Canada it had no knowledge of any attempts by Indian government representatives to undermine Brown's campaign.

Brown said in his statement that he has no reason to believe that foreign interference affected the results of the 2022 leadership race.

Brown was disqualified by Conservative Party authorities in July 2022 following allegations of "serious wrongdoing" linked to election financing. At the time, Brown accused the "party establishment" of "wanting to make sure Poilievre did not lose."

Sources told Radio-Canada that Brown's national campaign co-chair, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, allegedly was pressured to withdraw her support for Brown. The Alberta MP denied those allegations in a written statement to Radio-Canada.

A CBC News journalist approached Rempel Garner before the start of a separate committee meeting on Monday to ask about the allegations. Before the journalist could mention anything about the allegations, Rempel Garner rapidly got up from her seat and left the room. She later appeared at the committee virtually.

Rempel Garner quit her position as co-chair of Brown's campaign in June 2022 before the leadership race had concluded.