Trudeau says Canadians should be 'wary' of leaders who say foreign interference hasn't touched their teams

In an apparent jab at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians should be wary of political leaders who say their parties haven't been compromised by foreign interference.

Last week — after reading the classified, unredacted version of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report —  Singh suggested to reporters that he didn't have to worry about members of his caucus.

In an interview with CBC's Power & Politics on Monday, Trudeau questioned that assertion.

"I hadn't known Jagmeet said that," the prime minister said after a pause. "I would be wary of any party leader drawing any sort of conclusion like that."

Two weeks ago, NSICOP — a cross-partisan committee of MPs and senators — released a heavily blacked-out document alleging, based on intelligence, that some parliamentarians have been "semi-witting or witting" participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics.

The report also said foreign interference is targeting federal party nomination contests, leadership races and other lower-level events.

Trudeau did not answer when asked whether members of his party were named in the NSICOP report.

"I am implying that interference in our parliamentarians goes beyond party lines, from many different sources, and we need to make sure that before we go accusing anyone from any party on anything, there are really important processes to go through," he told host David Cochrane. 

Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who also has her security clearance, responded differently after reading the original report.

May said she was relieved to learn that none of her currently serving House of Commons colleagues knowingly betrayed their country.

"There's no reason to create an atmosphere of McCarthyism ... a witch hunt feeling of which MPs can be trusted," she said Monday.

On Thursday, Singh said he was more alarmed after reading the report and is "more convinced than ever" that some parliamentarians are "willing participants" in foreign states' efforts to interfere in Canadian politics

An NDP spokesperson later said the leader's comments should not be taken as confirming or denying that the parliamentarians cited in the report are currently serving.

During his news conference last week, Singh said the classified report shows Trudeau accepted some level of foreign interference and that he wanted to "to protect [the] party rather than defending the country."