“The Commissioner confirmed that ‘interference occurred in the last two general elections,’ that it impacted those elections and ’the right of Canadians to have their electoral processes and democratic institutions free from covert influence,'” said the statement, quoting excerpts from the inquiry’s report.
“In looking more closely at examples of Beijing’s interference, the Commissioner also confirmed that foreign interference ‘diminished the ability of some voters to cast an informed vote.’”
Justice Hogue’s report said China stands out as the “most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada,” and added that although interference didn’t change which party formed government in the 2019 and 2021 elections, it still eroded public trust in elections.
“Foreign interference in 2019 and 2021 undermined the right of voters to have an electoral ecosystem free from coercion or covert influence,” Justice Hogue wrote.
She said that while she can’t know for certain, foreign interference may have impacted results in a small number of ridings.
Among the ridings Justice Hogue highlighted were Don Valley North in Ontario, where intelligence documents said international students were bused in to vote in support of the Liberal nomination of Han Dong in 2019, and Steveston–Richmond East in British Columbia, where then-Tory MP Kenny Chiu was seeking re-election and was the target of a wide-scale misinformation campaign.
The report notes that the Don Valley North riding is a Liberal stronghold, and that interference in the nomination contest for who became the Liberal candidate could have decided who got elected to Parliament. It cites intelligence documents saying international students were provided with false documents and coerced to support the nomination of Mr. Dong, who went on to become MP in 2019 and won re-election in 2021. Mr. Dong denies involvement in these incidents, it said.
The report says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was told of these irregularities, but decided to review the matter after the election, saying he didn’t feel the intelligence reports were “sufficiently credible.”
“In his in camera [private] testimony before me, Mr. Trudeau noted that un-endorsing Mr. Dong would have direct electoral consequences as the [Liberal Party] expected to win [Don Valley North]. It would also have a devastating impact on Mr. Dong personally,” Justice Hogue wrote.
Citing this part of the report, the Conservatives said the prime minister’s decisions “were driven by Liberal political interests.”
Mr. Dong resigned from the Liberal caucus last year amid media reports about his relations with the Chinese consulate, and now sits as an Independent. So far, he hasn’t been allowed back in caucus, despite expressing his desire to join the party again.
During the 2021 election, the report says both then-Tory leader Erin O'Toole as well as Mr. Chiu were targeted by misinformation due to their strong stance against China’s hostilities. It notes that as Mr. Chiu attempted to counter the false narratives circulated against him, “his messaging was not picked up or circulated by Chinese-language outlets.”
Mr. Chiu eventually lost the 2021 election to his Liberal rival.
“There is a reasonable possibility that the false narratives could have impacted the results in this riding, but I cannot go further,” Justice Hogue wrote about the election contest in Mr. Chiu’s riding.
The report also says NDP MP Jenny Kwan was excluded from some local community events in Vancouver during election campaigns because of her stance against the Chinese regime’s rights abuses.
The inquiry was held after persistent pressure by opposition parties amid media reports of the Chinese regime’s interference based on intelligence leaks. The Liberal government, which was opposed to holding an inquiry, initially appointed former Gov. Gen. David Johnston as special rapporteur to examine the issue, but he resigned last year as opposition parties raised concerns about potential conflict of interest due to his ties with the Trudeau family.
In their statement, the Conservatives acknowledged that although the report says the overall election results were not affected, “the Commissioner states that she could not rule out that it affected results at the riding level.”
“For the sake of our democracy, the Trudeau Government cannot continue to dismiss and minimize the interference that did occur,” the statement said.
The inquiry’s final report is expected by late December. The next phase will focus on how the public can be informed of foreign interference threats, how information about foreign interference can be communicated to the government, and reviewing the rules governing nomination contests.
