CSIS Director Says Threats to Elections Did Not Meet Critical Threshold

Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service David Vigneault adjusts a translation aid as he waits to appear before the Special Committee on Canada-People's Republic of China Relationship on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 6, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

The director of Canada’s spy agency said he is of the opinion there were no incidents that threatened the integrity of recent elections, as he testified before a House of Commons committee on Beijing’s foreign interference.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director David Vigneault appeared before the committee on March 2 in the context of multiple leaks reportedly from his agency appearing in the media.

He said that based on his information and experience, he concurs with the conclusions of the electoral integrity panel on the last two elections.

The panel of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol reportedly did not detect foreign interference that threatened the country’s ability to hold free and fair elections.

Vigneault told the committee on procedure and House affairs that he briefed the panel directly. He said the panel challenged CSIS’s information to better understand it.

“I can tell you that it has been a very robust exchange,” he said.

The director was asked about the leaks, but like all the officials who testified ahead of him in recent days he said he couldn’t comment.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper asked if CSIS had briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 in relation to a particular Liberal candidate being assisted by the Chinese consulate in Toronto.

Global News reported on Feb. 24 that Trudeau’s team was warned by CSIS that then Liberal party candidate Han Dong was part of Beijing’s election interference network.

Dong, now a second-term MP, has called the allegations “inaccurate and irresponsible.”

Vigneault said that it’s not because the information is now in the media that he’s at liberty to “confirm or deny the specific nature of classified information.”

“I think it’s important to put in context that information that is in the public domain may or may not be coming from the Service or from other agencies,” he said.

Global has been reporting leaked information since November, and recently the Globe and Mail started releasing information from national security sources as well.

The Globe’s information revealed Beijing’s strategy to influence the 2021 elections and its preference for a minority Liberal government.

Bloc Québécois MP Christine Normandin asked Vigneault about those leaks and whether it signals dissatisfaction within CSIS with regard to the government’s response to foreign interference.

“Does it say something about the tensions that might exist?” she said.

“I would say that in an intelligence agency like ours, there are always different points of view and very serious discussions,” Vigneault answered.

He added that there are processes within the organization for employees to make complaints on how the information is being handled.

“It’s not an issue that there is this kind of tension within CSIS.”

Liberal MP Greg Fergus also asked Vigneault if the “unverified or unconfirmed” leaks could themselves represent a “form of foreign interference.”

Vigneault didn’t answer directly and said that foreign interference can be “very complex” with a “whole category of activities” falling inside a grey area.

The director said that his agency is currently investigating the leaks along with unspecified partners.

Top Threat

Vigneault identified the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “principal threat” to Canada, but said the threat is not coming from Chinese people.

It rather comes from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese government, he said.

“Indeed, we are keenly aware that Chinese communities are often the primary victims of PRC foreign interference efforts in Canada.”

When Trudeau first commented on whether he had been briefed on the Han Dong allegations on Feb. 27, he didn’t answer directly and linked the issue to “a rise in anti-Asian racism linked to the pandemic, and concerns being raised or arising around people’s loyalties.”

Vigneault said Beijing’s foreign interference is orchestrated by the CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), with a budget now larger than China’s foreign affairs department.

“It gives you a sense of how important this is” for the CCP, he said.

“This is why the President of China Xi Jinping calls the UFWD one of its magic weapons.”