O’Toole Raised Interference Concern After Being Approached by ‘Flirtatious’ Chinese Woman

Former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Erin O'Toole appears as a witness at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa, on Sept. 18, 2024. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Former Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole told the Foreign Interference Commission about a suspected influence attempt that involved being repeatedly approached by a “flirtatious” Chinese woman.

O'Toole recounted two incidents he believes may have involved foreign interference, according to a summary of interviews with commission counsel conducted in March and released on Sept. 18, which was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

In the first encounter, he described being approached by “a young ethnic Chinese woman” at an event in 2018 or 2019, as well as on other occasions.

“Mr. O’Toole described the young woman as very flirtatious and as unprofessional and relentless in her attempts to obtain his phone number, to the point that he felt bothered and uncomfortable,” the summary stated. “Around the time he became Party leader he reflected upon this incident and believed it may well have been an overt attempt at gaining his influence.”

The Chinese Communist Party is known to employ sexual seduction tactics to exert foreign influence. Referred to as “honey pots” in a December 2021 report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the tactic involves Chinese agents fostering romantic relationships with influential individuals, with the goal of gathering sensitive information.

In one instance in 2011, then-Conservative MP Bob Dechert, who served as the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, issued a public apology for a romantic relationship with a young Chinese national named Shi Rong, who worked at the Toronto bureau of the Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua News Agency. Shi was abruptly recalled to China after the relationship became public.

Such tactics of seduction and personal relationships are not limited to Canada and have been observed in other countries as well.

One such example is the case of Christine Fang in the United States. Fang, a Chinese student at California State University-East Bay in the early 2010s, established relationships with several American politicians, including then Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, who became a member of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Their relationship raised concerns, and the FBI eventually alerted U.S. officials to her activities.

Swalwell severed ties with Fang immediately after the FBI warning and was not accused of any wrongdoing.

International Students

In the interview summary, O'Toole raised concerns about a second incident during his 2017 Conservative leadership campaign, when two young foreign Chinese students came to his Ottawa office. They offered to help with tasks such as calling voters and doing data entry in Mandarin and Cantonese.

“Although Mr. O’Toole described them as ‘lovely’, he wonders why these foreign students offered to volunteer out of the blue and whether they were prompted to do so by foreign actors,” the summary stated. “He thought it strange for international students to follow domestic politics so closely and even stranger that they would volunteer in the context of an internal party leadership race.”

O'Toole said there is a possibility that the international students were genuinely offering assistance but noted that their role as volunteers would have given them access to his campaign.

Citing these incidents, the former Conservative leader pointed out the limited ability of political parties to properly screen or vet volunteers, leaving them vulnerable to potential foreign interference.

O'Toole testified before the commission on Sept. 18. He was not cross-examined on the two incidents reported in the newly released interview summary.

During his Sept. 18 testimony, O'Toole cited other concerns regarding China’s potential foreign interference in Canada, including his considering expelling a senator from his caucus. He expressed “serious concern” that the senator had been advocating for a Chinese state-owned company in Ontario and noted that the senator had received “pretty extensive” sponsored travel to China. He did not name the senator.

O'Toole ultimately decided not to expel the senator, citing concerns that he would be accused of racism. He said he instead asked the party leader in the Senate to have a serious conversation with the senator about appropriate conduct.