RCMP investigating 'foreign actor interference activities,' Lucki says, prompting China talk in the House

The RCMP has confirmed it is investigating 'broader foreign actor interference activities' in Canada, but Commissioner Brenda Lucki is declining to provide more details given the investigations are 'ongoing.'

The RCMP has confirmed it is investigating "broader foreign actor interference activities" in Canada, but Commissioner Brenda Lucki is declining to provide more details given the investigations are "ongoing."

This confirmation came in a letter Lucki sent to the House of Commons committee studying foreign interference in Canadian elections. 

This study was prompted by a Global News report that China allegedly interfered in Canada’s 2019 federal election, partly by funding the campaigns of at least 11 candidates, and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed about the allegations in January. CTV News has not independently verified Global News’s reporting, which Trudeau has also disputed.

Lucki's correspondence does not name any country in relation to the investigations, but she did appear to back up what other federal officials have said: that the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force—of which the RCMP is part— "did not have any criminal investigations into election-related activities" in the context of the 2019 federal general election.

Lucki said this was because "there was no evidence at the time."

Now, the top Mountie says, the RCMP is "aware of foreign actor interference in relation to a broad range of activities, including interference in democratic processes."

And while "open dialogue on the impact of foreign actor interference on Canada, its citizens, and its democratic processes is critical in helping defend against these threats," Lucki said she is unable to provide the committee more information in order to protect the integrity of the work underway.