For some time, there has been serious concern about foreign interference in Canadian politics. We have long known that, in the 2021 election, the Chinese government preferred to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government re-elected since the Conservatives were seen to be too hawkish for the CPP’s tastes.
Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu was targeted by a “network of misinformation” in 2021 following his proposal to introduce a registry of foreign agents in Canada, and subsequently lost his seat to the Liberal candidate. And, over a year ago, Trudeau was briefed that a campaign of Chinese interference had funded 11 candidates in the 2019 election.
Two further revelations, both from CSIS leaks, have brought new urgency to the issue of Chinese foreign interference.
Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press files Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu was targeted by a ‘network of misinformation’ in 2021 as part of Chinese interference in Canadian politics.
First, the Prime Minister’s Office was warned by CSIS prior to the 2019 election about their suspicion that a candidate, Han Dong, was both assisted in his nomination race by the Chinese consulate and was a “witting affiliate” in the Chinese foreign interference network.
Despite this, Trudeau approved Dong’s candidacy, and the Liberal candidate went on to win in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Second, we learned China had targeted Trudeau himself following his selection as leader of the Liberal party. A diplomat from the Chinese consulate ordered a sympathetic billionaire to donate $1 million to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation to curry favour with the future prime minister, and that the Chinese government would repay the money.
If you’re not yet concerned, then you’re not paying attention. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, former chief electoral officer of Canada, and Richard Fadden, the prime minister’s former national security adviser, have both called for a public inquiry to address Chinese foreign interference. So far, Trudeau has refused to call an inquiry.
Aside from the objective concerns about foreign governments meddling in our politics, this episode is raising urgent questions about Trudeau’s leadership. Commentators have long opined that he has underestimated the urgency of the threat posed by China’s efforts here at home.
Now, the prime minister’s responses to these new allegations suggest national security has taken a back seat to Liberal electoral considerations, and raise the possibility that Canadians cannot depend on Trudeau nor his government to protect our democracy from foreign threats.
The Liberals’ first response has been to both understate the extent of the problem and cast aspersions on those with concerns. Trudeau argued Chinese interference, while serious, was not something worth getting all flustered about, since the plotting would not ultimately have changed the outcome of either the 2019 or 2021 elections.
Well, yes, but no one was saying otherwise. The Liberals scored 36 more seats than the second-place Conservatives in the last federal election. The Chinese interference operation was never going to switch the results in that many seats. Trudeau’s argument was that foreign interference was only worth worrying about if it tipped elections one way or another.
A Liberal MP, Jennifer O’Connell, took things a step further, linking concerns about foreign interference to former U.S. president Donald Trump. O’Connell eye-rollingly dismissed concerns as “the same Trump-type tactics to question election results.”
As news about Dong broke, Trudeau shifted gears, this time linking concerns about election integrity to anti-Asian racism. “One of the things we’ve seen unfortunately over the past years is a rise in anti-Asian racism linked to the pandemic, and concerns being arisen around people’s loyalties,” the prime minister said.
Needless to say, it is deeply cynical to claim that Canadians concerned about foreign interference are motivated by racism. The goal here appears to be to cow Canadians and dissuade them from asking legitimate questions.
Does Trudeau seriously believe Kingsley and Fadden, for example, are motivated by anti-Asian racism in their calls for a public inquiry?
Canadians will also be rightly irritated by O’Connell’s cynical comparison of concern over Canadian electoral integrity with Trump’s wild-eyed conspiracy theories.
Trudeau has been seemingly reluctant or unwilling to act when the issue of foreign interference has been raised by CSIS. Now that the issue is front and centre, his first responses have been attempts to obfuscate what has taken place, distract from the real issues, and impugn the motives of Canadians with legitimate concerns.
The result is a scandal that will unfold both slowly and painfully for the government, as new revelations and leaks drip out. Canadians will likely be shocked to discover the true extent of the success of Beijing’s influence operation, especially when journalists and investigators cast their gaze on provincial and municipal politicians.
This all may ultimately cost Trudeau his job.
So be it. Canadians deserve to have a prime minister is willing to do what is necessary to protect our democracy from foreign threats. Through his reaction to these recent revelations, Trudeau has shown he is either unable or, more concerningly, unwilling to do so.
Royce Koop is a professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba and academic director of the Centre for Social Science Research and Policy.
