Revelations in February that the Chinese communist government sought to interfere in the past two Canadian elections on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the ruling Liberal Party have sparked a public inquiry in Ottowa. Over the past three weeks, the inquiry commission has heard testimony from top Trudeau government aides, national security and intelligence officials, and the Prime Minister himself. Despite Trudeau’s insistence that the 2019 and 2021 Canadian elections were “free and fair,” testimony from intelligence officials suggests otherwise.
‘CHINA GOT THE OUTCOME IT WANTED.’
“It would just seem very improbable that the Chinese government itself would have a preference in the election,” Prime Minister Trudeau testified last week before the inquiry, which Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue heads. However, intelligence documents made public in the course of the inquiry detail a sophisticated and concerted effort by agents acting on behalf of China to push Chinese-Canadian voters to back Liberal Party candidates over their Conservative Party opponents. In response to the proceedings, The Washington Post concluded: “China got the outcome it wanted in 2021 — the reelection of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a minority government.”
A Canadian intelligence investigation into Chinese activities during the 2021 election concluded that the communist regime used Chinese immigrants, members of their diplomatic service, political proxies, as well as Chinese-language news outlets to induce — or even coerce — Chinese-Canadian voters to back candidates they viewed as friendly or open to Beijing’s global agenda.
While this meant pushing Liberal Party candidates in 2019 and 2021, there is concerning evidence that the Conservatives may also be the subject to Beijing’s influence. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has sought to improve the party’s standing among Chinese-Canadians. In January, Poilievre appeared at a Toronto Chinese community event alongside several individuals with extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
U.S. IMPLICATIONS.
The Chinese efforts to influence Canadian elections also hold stark implications for the United States. The ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border has seen a historic number of Chinese enter the country illegally. Many of these individuals are men of military age whom U.S officials know little about — raising concerns about their roles in potential Chinese intelligence operations in America.
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