China trying to get involved did not change the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 elections that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals won, according to a government investigation.
In a report on Friday, commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said that some election results in a few areas may have been influenced, but it’s not certain.
Hogue listened to a lot of information and looked at secret papers. He found that nobody, not even Beijing, affected Canada’s voting system during the two national elections.
“Our system is still strong,” said Hogue after her report was released. People voted and their votes were counted properly. There is no evidence of any interference.
She said that trying to influence the government didn’t make a difference in the last two elections.
However, Hogue found in her report that outside influence made people in Canada have less trust in their democracy. “This is the biggest damage Canada has faced because of other countries getting involved. ”
The investigation recently finished 10 days of public meetings to look into claims of China, India, Russia, and other countries influencing the last two elections.
“I found out that other countries trying to influence us is a common thing, not only in Canada but everywhere. ” Hogue said he also learned that the government tries to respond to the problem, whether or not there is an election happening.
“Foreign interference is similar to a crime. ” It is always there. Its ways change over time. Although the government can try to find solutions, it may not be possible to completely get rid of it. With that being said, we should stop it and lessen its impact.
The Liberals started a new rule in 2019. If a group of government officials decides that something might affect Canada’s ability to have a fair election, they will tell the public about it.
There was no announcement about the 2019 or 2021 elections. The Liberals won the election with less than half the votes and the Conservatives became the main opposing party.
Hogue said she can’t rule out the chance that foreign interference could have affected the results in some specific ridings. “In my opinion, only a few ridings are affected and we don’t know for sure how much foreign interference will ultimately impact the situation. ”
Hogue mentioned two examples that were talked about a lot in the public meetings.
She examined the competition for the Liberal nomination in the Toronto area of Don Valley North in 2019, and Han Dong was chosen as the candidate.
The Canadian security agency found a possible plan involving a bus of Chinese students with fake papers, but Hogue said there was not enough proof to know what really happened.
She said that in the 2021 election in British Columbia’s Steveston-Richmond East, there is a good chance that Chinese interference hurt Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu’s chances of winning the seat.
In general, Hogue found that foreign meddling probably affected some votes in the 2019 and 2021 elections, and also hurt the rights of voters to have a fair and free election without outside pressure or secret influence.
“This has probably not been a big problem so far, but it might get worse in the future. ”
Politicians might change what they say and do because of foreign interference. This might happen more if we don’t protect against it, Hogue said.
“This would really hurt our democracy because it goes against the idea that politicians should be able to share their opinions and the opinions of the people they represent without being influenced by another country in secret. ”
The investigation will now focus on bigger problems with government policies, like how good they are at stopping foreign interference.
“Trying to interfere in Canadian matters has been happening for a long time. By the 1980s, there were clear warnings that Beijing was trying to influence and take advantage of the Chinese community in Canada. ”
Last February, the Globe and Mail reported that China tried to help the Liberal party win the 2021 election and prevent Conservative politicians who were not friendly to China from winning.
Next month, the government said that someone independent would check for foreign interference in the elections. This is one way they are trying to stop meddling and make people feel more confident about the elections.
David Johnston, a person in charge of a big job, said in a report in May 2023 that there are big problems in the way information is shared and understood between security agencies and the government.
However, he did not find any instances of ministers, the prime minister, or their offices purposefully or carelessly ignoring intelligence, advice, or recommendations.
Johnston said that some information got out and was not understood correctly by some media because they didn’t have enough context.
In the end, he advised not to have a public investigation because a commissioner would face the same problems with keeping things secret as he did.
In September, the government said Hogue would lead a public inquiry, even though there were more leaks to the media and pressure from other political parties.