The Battle To Get An Inquiry Into Foreign Interference In Our Elections

There have been calls from the opposition parties for months to call a public inquiry into information that China has also interfered in Canada’s federal elections by funding pro-China candidates while intimidating and spreading false information about candidates who do not share the views of the Chinese government.

Justin Trudeau has tried to delay and disrupt any investigation into the claims. At first he tried to dismiss the claims of interference as inaccurate or racist. Then he appointed a “special rapporteur”, David Johnston, to look into the matter. It soon became clear that it was an attempted whitewash of the problem when Mr. Johnston stated that a full public inquiry was not needed and it was noted that he has been a personal friend of the Trudeaus for many years. When the opposition parties objected to his appointment due to a possible conflict of interest due to a perceived lack of independence, he resigned. Finally, after the delays, denials and deception, a Quebec judge has been appointed with a mandate to investigate foreign interference in Canadian elections by any foreign government or organization, including China and Russia.

It was reported by Global News that at least 11 candidates in the 2019 federal election were funded by China. China also placed agents into MPs’ offices, tried to corrupt former Canadian officials, and put in place “aggressive campaigns” against politicians viewed as contrary to its interests. It has also come to light that Chinese “police stations” on Canadian soil are being used to intimidate Chinese expatriates in Canada.

Although Justin Trudeau said that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service never briefed him on allegations that China was funding federal candidates in Canada’s 2019 election, there are several reports to the contrary that he ignored the information that was given to him. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, refused to answer questions about a leaked report from Canada’s spy agency that said a Chinese diplomat worked to flip Richmond’s two ridings from Conservative to Liberal in 2021 when she appeared before the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee in April 2023.

A CSIS official said that Mr. Trudeau has been a target of Chinese influence for several years. Chinese billionaire Zhang Bin was instructed by Chinese Communist Party to donate $1 million to Trudeau-related causes after which he would be reimbursed for the amount. It included $200,000 to the Trudeau Foundation, $50,000 to fund a statue of Pierre Trudeau, and the rest went to Pierre Trudeau-named initiatives at the University of Montreal.

China’s communist dictatorship over the last few years has tried to bully its neighbours, constantly threatens war with Taiwan, and supports the North Korean dictatorship in its confrontations with the West. It has also asserted its claims to ownership over 90% of the South China Sea and has built military installations on artificial islands that it created in the sea. It has a long history of cultural genocide of its minorities, including the Muslim Ulghurs.

Two Canadian citizens were kidnapped in December 2018 in China in reprisal for Canada’s arrest of a Huawei executive for an extradition request on an arrest warrant issued by the United States. They were held in a Chinese prison for almost three years until the U.S. abandoned its extradition request. Lately, through its Hong Kong subsidiary, it has issued bounties for the arrests of pro-democracy activists abroad in Britain, the United States and Australia, including Canadian-born Dennis Kwok.

The Trudeau family has always had an oddly cosy relationship with the dictatorships of the world, including Russia, Cuba and China. Pierre Trudeau was a close personal friend with Fidel Castro, who’s greatest achievement was subjecting the country and its captive people to perpetual poverty in the name of communist ideology.

Pierre Trudeau made several visits to China including in 1961 when a government-induced famine was underway that killed 30 million people and resulted in widespread cannibalism. "He was enormously sympathetic to the regime and failed to take note of anything involving repression, violence and death around him," wrote Peter Schweizer in his book Red-Handed. He often voiced his admiration of the communist government saying that “the country was a model of central planning”.

Justin was quoted at a 2013 Toronto fundraiser in which he picked China when he was asked what nation he most admired. "There's a level of admiration I actually have for China. Their basic dictatorship is actually allowing them to turn their economy around on a dime." In attendance were people from Taiwan, Tibet and Korea, all of whom say they suffered at the hands of China's dictatorship, said they were insulted by Trudeau's remarks.

In May 2023 Trudeau expelled one Chinese diplomat after an intelligence report accused him of trying to target the family of Conservative MP Michael Chong, who has been critical of China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority. That resulted in diplomats in the Chinese consulate in Toronto gathering information to target him and his extended family. The Liberal government did not inform him that he was being targeted by the Chinese, even though the security agencies were aware, and said that “this was a symptom of the national security system that isn’t working,” to protect Canadians. The Conservative foreign affairs critic also testified about his experience before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a bipartisan committee of representatives, senators and administration appointees with a legislative mandate to monitor human rights in the People’s Republic. While trying to avoid criticizing Canada’s response to Chinese influence in Canadian politics, it became apparent that Canada was soft on China’s meddling, and said that “Canada must work more closely with democratic allies like the U.S. in countering Beijings’s efforts to interfere in our democratic life”. Regarding the boycotting of Chinese goods produced by the use of forced Uyghur labour, he said “I think the United States has done an excellent job on enforcing bans on the importation of goods like tomatoes and cotton”, citing the seizure of shipments by U.S. border officials. “In Canada we have yet to seize one shipment.”