Former Richmond MP claims he was victim of Chinese election meddling
Former MP Kenny Chiu is joining the calls for a public inquiry into possible election interference.
Chiu believes he was the target of Chinese meddling during the last federal election, though he doesn’t blame his loss on foreign interference.
“I’m not a sore loser,” he said Friday. “I’ve lost before in 2015 and 2019, but this time I’ve seen signs that have suggest election interference.”
Chui says comments were first brought to his attention on the messaging platform WeChat, an app primarily used by the Chinese community.
“It was visceral, it was hate, it characterized me as a traitor, as a Chinese-hater and as someone who is anti-Chinese and … a sellout to the Chinese people,” he said.
He believes it started because he proposed a private members’ bill to create a foreign influence registry, which would work to prevent election interference.
He says the disinformation was concerning, but he never took the concerns to the RCMP.
“I don’t have the confidence that they have tools and the ability to handle it.”
Before the October election, Chiu says he was approached by CSIS, but they wouldn’t say what exactly they were investigating.
A report commissioned by the federal government earlier this spring found no evidence that meddling had an impact on the election.
"The good news is the measures we put in place, we believe, and it was confirmed by the report today, resulted in no foreign interference, or even other electoral interference such as that the result of the vote would be compromised,” Domic Leblanc, the intergovernmental affairs minister said earlier this month when the report was released.
On Thursday, the House of Commons voted in favour of a public inquiry into alleged election interference.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed former governor general David Johnston was appointed to determine if a public inquiry was necessary by mid-May. The prime minister has said he believes a public inquiry would have national security limitations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.