Is David Johnston in a conflict of interest? Experts say only Canadians can decide

Since he was first named the federal government's special rapporteur on foreign election interference, David Johnston has been accused of being unfit for the job because of his connections to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The leaders of the Conservative and Bloc Quebecois parties have both said Trudeau and Johnston are self-declared friends, that their longstanding ties are too close to allow Johnston to judge the prime minister's actions.

But experts say determining whether someone is in a conflict of interest — and if their decisions were influenced by that conflict — isn't entirely a matter of fact. Public perception plays a big role.

"With a conflict of interest, it is what you think it is and I think everybody has to make their own mind up on this one," Hugh Gunz, a professor emeritus of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management, told CBC News. 

"In this particular instance it's a tricky one, because the relationship between Johnston and the Trudeau family is fairly tenuous. I suspect it's one of these things that's right on the edge, whether there is a genuine conflict of interest." 

Johnston, the former governor general, was appointed special rapporteur by Trudeau in March after a series of news stories by Global News and the Globe and Mail alleged the Chinese government engaged in a range of interference operations in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Johnston was tasked with assessing the extent and impact of that interference and the government's response to intelligence reports, and with suggesting improvements to how government agencies combat that interference.

Johnston was also asked to decide whether a formal public inquiry should be struck — one that could subpoena witnesses, hear evidence and request and examine documents. On Tuesday, he said no such inquiry was necessary. 

After he released his report, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's first reaction was to raise the conflict of interest issue. 

"We see today that his ski buddy, cottage neighbour, family friend and member of the Beijing-financed Trudeau Foundation came out and did exactly what I predicted — helped Trudeau cover up the influence by Beijing in our democracy," Poilievre said.

That statement echoed comments made by Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet back in March. Blanchet said that while he had nothing against Johnston personally, Trudeau should have chosen a special rapporteur who is not "from the very beginning friends of him."

The first question from reporters at Johnston's Tuesday press conference was not about the substance of the report but rather the conflict of interest question. 

Johnston did his best to swat away the suggestion that his conclusions should be viewed with suspicion. He said he was friends with Pierre Trudeau and had skied with the Trudeau family back when Justin Trudeau and his brothers were children, but their relationship did not extend much further.

He said that when he was principal of McGill University, he saw Justin Trudeau occasionally on campus but has had little contact with the current prime minister since those days.