Many Chinese Canadians believe Chinese agents worked at an Elections Canada office and polling stations, a former Conservative MP told the ongoing foreign interference inquiry.
Leona Alleslev, who represented the Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill riding north of Toronto until 2021, said in a March 27 sworn affidavit for the Foreign Interference Commission that while campaigning door to door in 2021, Chinese Canadian constituents told her they were afraid of being identified by Chinese agents if they went to polling stations.
“Some claimed they took the threat seriously because there were agents of the Chinese Communist Party (‘CCP’) working in the local Elections Canada office and in the polling stations, or monitoring outside of the significantly reduced number of polling stations [due to COVID-19] to watch who voted.”
She said the other half who answered the door told her they believed the Conservative Party wanted to discredit the CCP and ethnic Chinese people, and “take away China’s sovereignty and economic power.”
Alleslev said that many in this category appeared to be expressing similar points, and said one had a printed email with “talking points” about the Conservative Party.
“[Alleslev] was also told by some Chinese-Canadian constituents about messaging they had received that said she was anti-Chinese or that she could revoke people’s immigration status, prevent them from getting citizenship, deny student visas or their family members’ visitor visas, take away their benefits, or have them deported,” the affidavit says.
In his 2021 election platform, O'Toole had included a comprehensive plan to counter Beijing’s aggressions and human rights violations domestically and abroad.
Justice Hogue noted in her report that O'Toole said in his own testimony that his party had tabled a motion to recognize the persecution of Uyghurs in China as genocide, and a Tory MP, Kenny Chiu—whom the commission also found to have been interfered with by Beijing’s disinformation during the 2021 election—had introduced a private member’s bill to bring in a foreign agent registry.
“On September 9 [2021], the Global Times, a Chinese state-media source, published an article entitled, ‘Canadian Tories’ ‘hostile China blueprint’ caters to toxic atmosphere against Beijing amid sour ties,’” Hogue’s report said.
“Between September 10 and September 16 [2021], at least eight popular WeChat news accounts in Canada shared the Global Times story that the CPC would ‘break ties’ with the PRC,” the report added, mentioning other similar examples of Beijing’s disinformation attacks against the Conservatives.
Riding
Alleslev’s affidavit says that during the 2021 election campaign, she believes she spoke to 200 to 300 constituents who fall into the two categories.It adds that the Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill riding has a substantial ethnic Chinese minority population.
Alleslev, who got 42.1 percent of the vote in the 2021 election, lost to the Liberal contender Leah Taylor Roy, who got 45.2 percent.
Alleslev was first elected to Parliament in 2015 as a Liberal, but crossed the floor to join the Conservatives in 2018. She won the 2019 election as a Conservative with 44.4 percent of the vote against her main contender, the Liberals’ Taylor Roy, who received 42.4 percent of the vote.
The affidavit says Alleslev didn’t report her concerns to Elections Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections “because of her experience with Elections Canada’s lack of clear process, unresponsiveness and inaction on other matters.”
A spokesperson with Elections Canada said since there’s no list of foreign agents, it can’t make any determination on the issue with certainty, but said it has certain safeguards in place.
“Elections Canada takes all allegations on foreign interference extremely seriously,” the agency told The Epoch Times in an email.
“Since there is no official registry of foreign agents to compare to, it would be impossible for us to make any kind of determination with certainty. However, we should note that there are safeguards present at every stage of the electoral process.”
The spokesperson said these safeguards include electors voting privately behind a screen, votes being counted in front of candidates’ representatives or other designated observers, and an independent audit being conducted to ensure poll workers perform their duties properly.
“We can also note that all poll workers sign a solemn declaration that they will be non-partisan while working at an election and protect the secrecy of the vote. Their main job is to make it possible for electors to vote in an orderly fashion,” the agency said.
The spokesperson added that Elections Canada encourages anyone with concerns to contact the agency, “especially during electoral events so that we can take appropriate actions.”
