Gov’t ‘Didn’t Seem to Care’ About Alleged Chinese Election Interference Targeting Him, Says Former Tory MP

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu rises during question period in the House of Commons on April 13, 2021. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says the government and election authorities did little to help him or even make him aware of Chinese government interference in the 2021 federal election.

Mr. Chiu made the comments during testimony before the foreign interference inquiry on April 3 and said he felt “betrayed” by the government after finding out through the inquiry that he was not made aware of reports that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agents were targeting him during the 2021 election campaign.

The Foreign Interference Commission has released several internal memos showing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and others believed Mr. Chiu was targeted by foreign agents.

“I thought I would be protected by my country. And I was deeply troubled and disappointed that I was exposed, and the government didn’t seem to care,” he told the inquiry, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“It is almost like I was drowning and they were watching,” he added.

Mr. Chiu noted that when he had gone door-knocking in his riding of Steveston-Richmond East in British Columbia during the election campaign, many people of Chinese background had slammed doors in his face when they heard his Chinese name, and said that many people were under the impression that he hated China and Chinese people.

Mr. Chiu lost his seat during the 2021 election to Liberal MP Parm Bains. He has long alleged being targeted by CCP interference through pre-election misinformation on Chinese-language social media platforms. Mr. Chiu has said he was framed as “anti-China” after tabling a bill to establish a national registry for foreign agents, in order to regulate lobbying on behalf of people and groups who serve foreign interests.

He told the inquiry that if he had known he was being targeted by the CCP, he may not have run for office at all, citing his relatives in China that could potentially be “put in danger” through their relationship.

The foreign interference inquiry heard from several representatives from the Tories, the Liberals and the NDP who all said they had not been shown Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force documents that spoke about foreign election interference in specific ridings.

Former Tory leader Erin O'Toole, who led the 2021 Tory campaign, told the inquiry that his party likely lost up to nine ridings due to CCP interference, saying that his tough-on-China party platform made the Tories a target.