Public inquiry into foreign meddling in Canada's elections drops its first report today

Canadians could get a clearer sense today of the extent to which China and other countries meddled in the past two federal elections — and whether the government and security agencies did enough to share that information — when the public inquiry on foreign interference releases its first report.

The inquiry was triggered by media reports last year which, citing unnamed security sources and classified documents, accused China of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Some of the reports also suggested members of the Liberal government were aware of certain attempts at interference and didn't act. 

Over 10 days of hearings in March and April, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue heard hours of sometimes contradictory testimony about the breadth of foreign interference by countries like China, Russia and India in the past two elections and whether information was shared with the right people at the right times.

Hogue and her staff also have heard classified testimony behind closed doors to help them reach their conclusions.

Testimony and documents tabled at the inquiry have made it clear that foreign states have meddled in Canadian elections in the past.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada's spy agency, has said it believes the Chinese government "clandestinely and deceptively" interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, according to a 2023 document made public at the inquiry.

That briefing note says China's interference was "pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either 'pro [People's Republic of China]' or 'neutral' on issues of interest to the PRC government."

Other CSIS documents tabled at the inquiry showed the governments of India and Pakistan also attempted to interfere in Canada's federal elections in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, the government of India had "intent to interfere and likely conducted clandestine activities," including through the use of an Indian government proxy agent in Canada, according to an unclassified summary from CSIS.

Both before and during the hearings, CSIS Director David Vigneault has said he doesn't believe those efforts threatened the integrity of the election.

But other testimony suggested those attempts did have ripple effects.

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole testified that he believes his party lost five to nine seats because of a foreign misinformation campaign aimed at Conservative candidates in B.C. and Ontario, and at his party more generally. 

O'Toole also told the commission he believes foreign interference may have contributed to his removal as party leader. In a document containing notes from an interview between O'Toole and inquiry lawyers, O'Toole is quoted as saying he was suspicious about the motives of the person behind the petition that called for a leadership review following the 2021 election.

One of the specific claims that was examined during the inquiry centred on alleged irregularities during the 2019 Don Valley North nomination contest. A media story reported that security officials told senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that then Liberal candidate Han Dong "was part of a Chinese foreign interference network" and that the party should "rescind Dong's candidacy."

The inquiry has seen intelligence summaries suggesting CSIS warned that international students were bused in to take part in the  nomination vote, were given fake documents to allow them to vote for Han Dong — who went on to win the Liberal nomination — and were told by Chinese officials that if they didn't participate, their student visas would be in jeopardy and there could be consequences for their families back in China.