Former Lawmaker May Have Worked to Influence Canada’s Parliament for a Foreign Power: CSIS

Vanessa Lloyd, interim director at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, appears as a witness at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa on Sept. 27, 2024. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Canada’s intelligence agency says a former parliamentarian is suspected of having worked to influence parliamentary proceedings for a foreign power.

The information is contained in a document released by the Canadian Intelligence Security Service to the Foreign Interference Commission on Sept. 27. CSIS officials told the inquiry that this particular information had not been previously revealed.

“A former parliamentarian is suspected of having worked to influence parliamentary business on behalf of a foreign government,” the document says, without naming the foreign power or the parliamentarian.

The revelation is among a list of six instances of interference activities by foreign powers in Canada outlined in the document.

Two of the cases specifically mention the governments involved: India and Pakistan. But the name of one foreign power is notably absent, that of China, even though one of the bullet points refers to an interference attempt that prior declassified intelligence shows China was behind.

“Reporting indicates that a foreign government actively supported an individual’s 2019 federal nomination race in Don Valley North, including through the use of a proxy agent,” the document says.

Earlier intelligence reports presented at the commission and summarized in the commission’s May 3 interim report say that international students were bused in to the 2019 Liberal nomination contest of Toronto’s Don Valley North riding in support of Han Dong, who went on to win the nomination and subsequently won in the 2019 election to become MP in the Liberal stronghold.

The intelligence reports said the international students had been supplied with falsified documents by a proxy of China, and had been told to support Dong’s nomination under threat by the Chinese consulate. Dong, who now sits as an Independent MP, has denied any wrongdoing. He hasn’t responded to requests for comment.

Other Cases

Other cases of foreign interference reported in the CSIS document released on Sept. 27 include Pakistani officials attempting to “clandestinely influence Canadian federal politics,” and Indian proxy agents being suspected of providing financial assistance to support specific candidates from three parties in federal elections.

In one instance where the government involved is not named, the document says a foreign government took action to try to prevent a Liberal candidate from winning the election.

“It is suspected that the foreign government sought to thwart the candidate’s bid given their support for issues perceived to be contrary to the foreign government’s interests,” the report says.

Another case noted in the document is about suspected interference activities by a foreign official, which the Liberal Party was briefed on before the 2021 election. The prime minister was briefed about the case shortly after the election, the document says.

The Foreign Interference Commission was launched after multiple intelligence leaks in media reported about China’s extensive interference in Canada’s elections and other aspects of society.

The commission is also examining revelations in a June 3 report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians that said some parliamentarians have been “wittingly or semi-wittingly” working with foreign state actors.

The commission’s final report is due by the end of the year.