Trudeau Responds to Allegations That 11 Canadian Federal Candidates Received Chinese Funding in 2019 Election
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Nov. 7 responded to questions about a recent report alleging that at least 11 federal candidates, whose party affiliation wasn’t revealed, received funding from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the 2019 federal election.“State actors from around the world, whether it’s China or others, are continuing to play aggressive games with our institutions, with our democracies,” Trudeau said on Nov. 7 during a press conference in Laval, Quebec. “We have taken significant measures to strengthen the integrity of our elections processes and our systems,” he said. “We will continue to invest in the fight against election interference—against foreign interference—of our democracies and institutions.” The questions were related to a Global News report published on Nov. 7 alleging that intelligence officials had warned Trudeau about “covert funding to influence election outcomes” and also that at least 11 candidates in the 2019 election received CCP funding during their campaigns. The report adds that according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Chinese consulate in Toronto covertly directed transfer of funds to the candidates as well as many other Beijing operatives who worked on campaigns as staffers. Global News said the funds were allegedly funnelled through an Ontario provincial MPP and a federal election candidate staffer. Some, but not all, members of the network are “witting affiliates” of the CCP, the report said, based on official intelligence briefs. The report also says one intelligence brief alleged that an official in the Chinese consulate directed a campaign staffer to control and monitor the meetings of the candidate the staffer was working for. “The world is changing and sometimes in quite scary ways,” Trudeau said on Nov.7. “And we need to make sure that those who are tasked with keeping us safe every single day are able to do that.” In 2010, then-director of CSIS Richard Fadden told CBC in an interview that there were “several municipal politicians in British Columbia” and Crown ministers “in at least two provinces” whom CSIS believed were under the general influence of a foreign government. “We’re in fact a bit worried in a couple of provinces that we have an indication that there’s some political figures who have developed quite an attachment to foreign countries,” Fadden said at the time. Chinese Interference Fadden also said Chinese authorities organize demonstrations to protest Canadian government policies deemed harmful to the CCP. “They have organized demonstrations against the Canadian government in respect to some of our policies concerning China. They’ve organized demonstrations to deal with what are called the five poisons: Taiwan, Falun Gong, and others,” he said. Trudeau said during his Nov. 7 press conference that the federal government is “creating new tools” to support CSIS and other Canadian intelligence agencies in preventing foreign election interference. “There are already significant laws and measures that our intelligence and security officials have to go against foreign actors operating on Canadian soil,” he said. Experts have long warned about China’s interference efforts in Canadian elections. This issue was one of the main subjects explored in a House of Commons committee meeting last week. Marcus Kolga, director of DisinfoWatch, told the House Affairs committee on Nov. 3 that “Chinese state media narratives … directly targeted the Conservative Party and its [former] leader Erin O’Toole.” “Simultaneously, members of the Chinese Canadian community brought to our attention similar narratives appearing on local Canadian Chinese language media platforms and Chinese local media channel WeChat,” Kolga said. He added that the CCP-owned tabloid Global Times attacked O’Toole’s foreign policy platform in an article published on Sept. 9, 2021. “The Global Times article threatened Canadians that if they elected a Conservative government, Canadians should expect ‘a strong counter strike and Canada will be the one to suffer.'” Australian author and scholar Clive Hamilton has said that Beijing’s election interference operations are most advanced in Canada. The book he recently co-wrote, “Hidden Hand,” says that CCP’s United Front organizations, which are mandated by CCP to increase its influence abroad, “are increasingly following the advice laid out in 2010 by a CCP strategist—build ethnic Chinese-based political organizations, make political donations, support ethnic Chinese politicians, make political donations, support ethnic Chinese politicians, and deploy votes to swing close-run elections.” Hamilton told The Epoch Times in a previous interview that Beijing’s United Front organizations seem to be more entrenched in Canada compared to peer countries. Isaac Teo contributed to this report. Follow Peter Wilson is a reporter based in Ontario, Canada.
Udumbara
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Nov. 7 responded to questions about a recent report alleging that at least 11 federal candidates, whose party affiliation wasn’t revealed, received funding from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the 2019 federal election.
“State actors from around the world, whether it’s China or others, are continuing to play aggressive games with our institutions, with our democracies,” Trudeau said on Nov. 7 during a press conference in Laval, Quebec.
“We have taken significant measures to strengthen the integrity of our elections processes and our systems,” he said. “We will continue to invest in the fight against election interference—against foreign interference—of our democracies and institutions.”
The questions were related to a Global News report published on Nov. 7 alleging that intelligence officials had warned Trudeau about “covert funding to influence election outcomes” and also that at least 11 candidates in the 2019 election received CCP funding during their campaigns.
The report adds that according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Chinese consulate in Toronto covertly directed transfer of funds to the candidates as well as many other Beijing operatives who worked on campaigns as staffers.
Global News said the funds were allegedly funnelled through an Ontario provincial MPP and a federal election candidate staffer. Some, but not all, members of the network are “witting affiliates” of the CCP, the report said, based on official intelligence briefs.
The report also says one intelligence brief alleged that an official in the Chinese consulate directed a campaign staffer to control and monitor the meetings of the candidate the staffer was working for.
“The world is changing and sometimes in quite scary ways,” Trudeau said on Nov.7. “And we need to make sure that those who are tasked with keeping us safe every single day are able to do that.”
In 2010, then-director of CSIS Richard Fadden told CBC in an interview that there were “several municipal politicians in British Columbia” and Crown ministers “in at least two provinces” whom CSIS believed were under the general influence of a foreign government.
“We’re in fact a bit worried in a couple of provinces that we have an indication that there’s some political figures who have developed quite an attachment to foreign countries,” Fadden said at the time.
Chinese Interference
Fadden also said Chinese authorities organize demonstrations to protest Canadian government policies deemed harmful to the CCP.
“They have organized demonstrations against the Canadian government in respect to some of our policies concerning China. They’ve organized demonstrations to deal with what are called the five poisons: Taiwan, Falun Gong, and others,” he said.
Trudeau said during his Nov. 7 press conference that the federal government is “creating new tools” to support CSIS and other Canadian intelligence agencies in preventing foreign election interference.
“There are already significant laws and measures that our intelligence and security officials have to go against foreign actors operating on Canadian soil,” he said.
Experts have long warned about China’s interference efforts in Canadian elections. This issue was one of the main subjects explored in a House of Commons committee meeting last week.
Marcus Kolga, director of DisinfoWatch, told the House Affairs committee on Nov. 3 that “Chinese state media narratives … directly targeted the Conservative Party and its [former] leader Erin O’Toole.”
“Simultaneously, members of the Chinese Canadian community brought to our attention similar narratives appearing on local Canadian Chinese language media platforms and Chinese local media channel WeChat,” Kolga said.
He added that the CCP-owned tabloid Global Times attacked O’Toole’s foreign policy platform in an article published on Sept. 9, 2021.
“The Global Times article threatened Canadians that if they elected a Conservative government, Canadians should expect ‘a strong counter strike and Canada will be the one to suffer.'”
Australian author and scholar Clive Hamilton has said that Beijing’s election interference operations are most advanced in Canada.
The book he recently co-wrote, “Hidden Hand,” says that CCP’s United Front organizations, which are mandated by CCP to increase its influence abroad, “are increasingly following the advice laid out in 2010 by a CCP strategist—build ethnic Chinese-based political organizations, make political donations, support ethnic Chinese politicians, make political donations, support ethnic Chinese politicians, and deploy votes to swing close-run elections.”
Hamilton told The Epoch Times in a previous interview that Beijing’s United Front organizations seem to be more entrenched in Canada compared to peer countries.
Isaac Teo contributed to this report.
