Trudeau Tells Inquiry ‘Very Improbable’ Beijing Would Have Preference for Election Outcome

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears as a witness at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa on April 10, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pushed back on intelligence information suggesting that the Chinese regime favoured the Liberal Party in a previous election.

“While individual officials may well have expressed a preference or another, ... it would just seem very improbable that the Chinese government itself would have a preference in the election,” Mr. Trudeau said as he testified before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference on April 10.

The prime minister said the 2019 and 2021 elections took place during “significant tensions” between Canada and China, as Ottawa was mobilizing allies to put pressure on Beijing to release Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Mr. Trudeau gave his testimony after being provided with an intelligence summary created by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

The summary says that in the 2021 election, the agency possessed “reporting that some individual PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials in Canada made comments expressing a preference for a Liberal Party minority government.”

The Conservative Party had campaigned on a platform promising to take a harder stance against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Former Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole testified at the inquiry that he believes Chinese interference impacted up to nine ridings in 2021.

A February 2023 written CSIS briefing to the prime minister says the context of activities aimed at discouraging Canadians of Chinese heritage from voting for the Conservatives suggests that “these efforts were orchestrated or directed by the PRC.”

Mr. Trudeau told the inquiry he had not been made aware of those activities as they were being detected in 2021. He said he only learned about it through the media when the Conservatives brought the issue forward, and only learned months later they had formally flagged the issue to the elections integrity task force.

Holding the Inquiry

During his appearance at the inquiry, the prime minister was asked to comment on a broad range of topics related to interference.

As pressure built due to national security leaks in the media last year, Mr Trudeau initially resisted widespread calls for an inquiry. Instead, he appointed former Gov. Gen. David Johnston as special rapporteur on foreign interference in March 2023.

Mr. Trudeau was asked to comment on some conclusions made by Mr. Johnston in his May 2023 report.

Addressing the media allegations surrounding Han Dong and the 2019 Liberal nomination race in the Don Valley North riding, Mr. Johnston wrote that there were “well-grounded suspicions” that the irregularities were tied to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto, “with whom Dong maintains relationships.”

Mr. Trudeau had been briefed about the issue after Mr. Dong won the nomination race in late September 2019, but he chose to keep him on the ballot. Mr. Dong went on to win the seat in the House of Commons.

The prime minister was asked whether he agreed with Mr. Johnston’s conclusions.

“Do you accept first, that there were irregularities in that nomination contest, and secondly, that they were likely tied to the PRC consulate in Toronto,” asked Gib van Ert, counsel for MP Michael Chong.

“A well-grounded suspicion is certainly warranting more reflection and followups, but also might not hit the necessarily very high threshold for overturning the result of a democratic event,” Mr. Trudeau replied.

Mr. Trudeau told the inquiry he had pondered dropping Mr. Dong as a candidate, but decided there were uncertainties about the intelligence. He wouldn’t say whether he agrees with Mr. Johnston about there being a “well-grounded suspicion.”

“I can’t speak to analysis made by others,” he said. “Distinguishing what I knew in 2019 from what I may have learned later leaves me in an awkward position around answering this.”

Intelligence document entered as evidence at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference. Screenshot

A CSIS intelligence summary released to the inquiry says buses bringing international Chinese students to Han Dong’s 2019 nomination contest were hired “at the direction of PRC officials in Canada.” Some students were also reportedly provided with fake documents in order to be able to vote.

The Liberal nomination rules allow for those aged 14 and over to vote, without a citizenship or permanent residence requirement.

Commissioner of Canada Elections Caroline Simard testified on March 28 that she is investigating the 2019 Don Valley North contest.

Information Flow

A key issue the public inquiry needs to review is the information flow within government and who knew what and when with regard to foreign interference warnings.

Mr. Trudeau was asked about the variety of briefings he was provided throughout the years. Some of the written briefings prepared for him by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) have stated in no uncertain terms that the Chinese regime interfered in previous elections.

The conclusions of the written briefings also stress that the government isn’t doing enough to counter the threat and is lagging in comparison to close allies like the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Trudeau pointed out that he had not been provided much of the information. He said that he doesn’t read the intelligence, which is also often provided through verbal briefings.

“It is much more of a conversation than someone reading a prepared text to the minister that they’re briefing,” he said.

Mr. Trudeau’s senior advisers testified as much when they appeared before the inquiry on April 9.

This has created some controversy among other stakeholders at the inquiry, who have to consider the written evidence. To clarify the matter, they have requested that CSIS Director David Vigneault return to testify before the inquiry to find out what exactly was briefed to the prime minister.

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue granted the request on April 10 and said Mr. Vigneault would testify again on April 12.