Foreign interference may have changed 2021 result in one B.C. riding, inquiry finds
Foreign meddling attempts didn't change who won the last two federal elections in Canada but they may have changed the result in one riding in 2021, a public inquiry concluded Friday.
A preliminary report by commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said the extent of the impact of foreign interference in particular ridings is uncertain, though the number of races involved is small.
“The ultimate effects of foreign interference remain uncertain,” she said in her interim report.
She singled out the 2021 results in the British Columbia riding of Steveston-Richmond East, where there is a “reasonable possibility” that a potential foreign interference campaign targeting Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu may have cost him the seat.
“I go no further than that,” Hogue wrote.
Misleading information about Chiu and former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole appeared in media outlets and social media sites with ties to Beijing, painting them as anti-China and trying to dissuade Chinese Canadians from voting for them.
The actual impact of that campaign on the final vote is “difficult to determine,” Hogue found.
“In Canada, how someone votes is secret. It is therefore not possible to directly link the misleading media narratives with how any given voter cast their ballot,” the report said.
“And even if I were to assume that some votes were changed, there is no way to know whether enough votes were changed to affect the result.”
O'Toole testified during the inquiry's public hearings that he believed the misinformation may have cost him as many as nine seats in the 2021 election.
That was not enough to change the overall results - the Liberals won 160 seats to the Conservatives' 119 - but O'Toole said he thinks wins in those ridings may have allowed him to stay on as leader. He was ousted by the Conservative caucus in February, less than five months after the election.
Hogue said the evidence she has seen doesn't allow her to make any conclusions about the wider impact of this interference.
“I do not mean to minimize the legitimate concerns of those who raised these issues. My findings are limited to the evidence before me,” she said.
The commission also scrutinized a 2019 Liberal nomination battle in the Toronto-area riding of Don Valley North, where Han Dong won the candidacy.
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service flagged a potential plot involving a busload of Chinese international students with falsified documents provided by a proxy agent.
Hogue said there wasn't enough evidence to draw any conclusions about what actually happened, nor was it in the commission's mandate to do so.
“However, this incident makes clear the extent to which nomination contests can be gateways for foreign states who wish to interfere in our democratic processes,” she said.
The criteria for voting in a nomination race, which is decided by political parties, does not seem very stringent and neither do the control measures, she added. That is something Hogue plans to examine further in the next phase of the inquiry.
Dong went on to win the seat in the 2019 election, but left the Liberal party last year to sit as an independent MP when the allegations came to light.
The commission also heard evidence about a phone call between Dong and a Chinese consular official in which they discussed the arbitrary detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China. The pair were imprisoned in December 2018 in what is widely seen to be retaliation for Canada's role in detaining Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou days earlier.
Media reports based on leaked intelligence alleged that Dong advocated against their release in that conversation with the consular official, something Dong has denied.
A summary of the intelligence released by the inquiry suggest Dong advised the Chinese official that even if the “Two Michaels” were released, opposition parties would view it as affirmation that a hard line approach to the People's Republic of China was effective.
Hogue did not make any mention of that conversation in her interim report.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Suspected would-be assassin ordered detained as Slovak prime minister's condition is stable
The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was ordered to remain behind bars Saturday as the nation’s leader was in serious but stable condition after surviving multiple gunshot wounds, officials said.
Here's how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could make the first debate stage under stringent Biden-Trump rules
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long argued that the biggest hurdle of his presidential campaign is the perception that independent candidates can't win. He has looked to the debates as a singular opportunity to stand alongside Joe Biden and Donald Trump in front of a massive audience.
N.B. man takes talent to the air, hoping others catch his love for extreme pogo stick performing
Duncan Murray is one of only a handful of Canadians to be considered a professional extreme pogo athlete.
Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker's commencement speech has reached a new level
The NFL is distancing itself from controversial comments by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address.