André Pratte: Trudeau just can’t stop stonewalling on Chinese election interference
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The prime minister’s unconvincing and uninformative answers totally fail in reassuring Canadians
Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hold a press conference following their participation in the Francophonie Summit in Djerba, Tunisia on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press Article content
Following the publication of worrisome information regarding a Chinese secret campaign to interfere with the 2019 federal elections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen to stonewall and make this a partisan issue. Considering the importance of what was first reported by Global News, Canadians have the right to honest and thorough answers.
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On November 7, Global quoted sources according to which China has targeted Canada with a “vast campaign of foreign interference”, including: Funding a clandestine network comprising 11 candidates for the 2019 elections and Chinese operatives working as campaign staffers; Placing agents in the offices of MPs in order to influence their policy decisions; Seeking to corrupt former Canadian officials to gain leverage in Ottawa; And mounting aggressive campaigns against Canadian politicians whom China believes are threats to its interests.
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Since the report was published, the prime minister has been repeatedly questioned by journalists and opposition MPs. To each question, he has responded, in a very carefully scripted comment: “I do not have any information, nor have I been briefed on any federal candidates receiving any money from China.”
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That answer is grossly insufficient because it addresses only one of the allegations in question, and does so in a very limited manner. Usually quick to deny and denigrate controversial media reports, the Liberal government has not challenged the thrust of the Global News story, i.e. that the PM and other ministers have been briefed by intelligence officials regarding a political interference campaign orchestrated by China. Indeed, the Prime Minister noted that “these media reports were things that we took seriously.”
Mr. Trudeau’s attitude raises more questions than it answers: Has he indeed been briefed on the campaign in question? Did China, through intermediaries, attempt to funnel money to candidates’ campaigns? Did the Chinese seek to corrupt former Canadian officials? Did China mount campaigns to “punish” politicians whom the Chinese authorities believe are hostile to its interests? If the government was informed about such a campaign, what action did it take following those briefings?
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According to a “readout” issued by the Prime Minister’s Office during the G20 summit in Bali last week, Mr. Trudeau used a brief meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping to express his concerns about “interference activities.” Was the prime minister referring specifically to interference with Canada’s democratic system? If the issue was serious enough to raise with Xi, should not the prime minister inform Canadians?
Tuesday Mr. Trudeau attempted a diversion by attacking opposition MPs who dare ask questions regarding the Global story. “We’re beginning to see a little bit what we saw south of the border, people saying: ‘the elections were not legitimate, we lost because of other countries’ influence.’ This is a very serious allegation.”
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To the contrary, the opposition parties have taken a lot of care not to question the integrity of the recent elections. For instance, while questioning officials from Elections Canada this week, Conservative MP Michael Cooper said: “Just because the overall election was free and fair, that doesn’t negate the possibility that there could be interference, there could be instances of illegal activity, there could be instances of violations of the Canada Elections Act.” It’s difficult not to agree.
Furthermore, Wednesday, in the House of Commons, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was uncharacteristically subdued in his questions to the Prime Minister on this topic, and quickly changed subject to the carbon tax.
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Attempting to reassure Canadians on the legitimacy of the latest federal elections, the Liberal leader referred to the reports issued by the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force, a group put together by his government three years ago: “That committee clearly determined that the integrity of our elections was not compromised in 2019 or 2021.” Unfortunately, those reports have not been made public, so Canadians have to take Mr. Trudeau’s word for it.
Sabrina Maddeaux: China interferes in our elections and Trudeau plays word games 
Adam Zivo: China’s alarming infiltration of Canada’s democracy — and our duty to fight The prime minister also says that he has instructed government officials to “give all possible answers, everything they can, to the parliamentary committee that’s looking into this.” Yet, experience tells us that the agencies involved (CSIS, the RCMP and the Communications Security Establishment) will say as little as possible when they appear in front of parliamentarians.
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It is understandable that Mr. Trudeau would not want to jeopardize current investigations into China’s illegal activities in Canada, nor would he want to harm the already shaky relationship with China. This being said, as Conservative Michael Chong reminded MPs, “The best way to protect the integrity of a democracy is transparency.”
Mr. Trudeau’s unconvincing and uninformative answers totally fail in reassuring Canadians that our democratic process is free from serious interference by China. Although this interference very probably had no effect on the overall results, the fact that it happened at all is concerning enough.
The prime minister should stop prevaricating and tell us whether in fact he has been briefed on a significant Chinese campaign targeting Canadian politicians. Moreover, he should explain what his government intends to do in the light of those revelations, both internally (should election laws be strengthened?) and externally (what does this mean for the Canada-China relationship?).
“We believe in free and open and frank dialogue,” Mr. Trudeau rightly told Xi Jinping when the Chinese leader reprimanded him at the G20. It is time that the prime minister have an open and frank discussion with Canadians about the alleged Chinese attacks on our democracy.
André Pratte is a senior fellow at the graduate school of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa
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