The diplomatic tensions between Canada and India are at an all-time high as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched a fresh tirade against the Indian government and accused Indian diplomats in Canada of being linked to ‘criminal activities’ including the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. While Canada and India have expelled their diplomats in a tit-for-tat move, it has emerged that Trudeau’s fresh anti-India statements are an attempt to divert domestic attention from allegations of Chinese interference in the past few elections in Canada.
A federal inquiry has been going on into the allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections. During a recent public hearing of the inquiry, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc claimed that it is ‘irresponsible and partisan exaggeration’ to claim that traitors are sitting in the Canadian parliament based on the findings of the report published by intelligence watchdog National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).
In June this year, the NSICOP report titled: Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions uncovered the extensive interference of China in Canada’s electoral and legislative affairs. The redacted report mentions how certain Canadian MPs colluded with China.
China expanded its influence over Canadian governance and economy
The report said that some Chinese nationals, supported by the Chinese Communist Party, have and continue to engage in sophisticated efforts to break into and influence all levels of the Canadian governance and economy.
The NSICOP report emphasises the serious consequences of Chinese influence actions in Canada, which include illegal attempts to intervene in elections, bribe Canadian officials, and use covert techniques to exploit Canada’s indigenous people for resource extraction, as mentioned in the non-redacted 2019 version of the report.
“Between September 1, 2018, and November 7, 2023, foreign interference targeting democratic institutions and processes remained largely consistent with the broader trends the Committee identified in its previous review. Most notably, the PRC remained the largest foreign interference threat to Canada, including to its democratic institutions and processes,” the 2024 redacted NSICOP report states adding that the Chinese interference efforts are most sophisticated, persistent and multi-dimensional.
Highlighting China’s transnational repression, the NSICOP report stated that China had set up Overseas Police Stations in Canada and other countries. “In September 2022, a report published by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Safeguard Defenders alleged that the PRC had established a series of “Overseas Police Stations” in countries around the world, including Canada. (“OverseasPolice Station” is derived from the term “Police-Overseas Chinese Liaison Stations,” which itself is a direct translation from the Chinese term used by the PRC. 42) Subsequent investigation confirmed these reports,” the report reads adding that by March 2023, there were about 7 such Chinese Overseas police stations—3 in Toronto, 2 in Vancouver and 2 in Montreal.
Media to social media: China exploited all means at hand to manipulate public opinion against Canada’s Conservative Party
Elaborating on the tactics used by foreign actors like China to influence the opinions of Canadian voters, ethnocultural groups and parliamentarians, China used social media alongside the legacy media.
“According to the intelligence community, the PRC was the most capable actor in this context, interfering with Canadian media content via direct engagement with Canadian media executives and journalists.62 [Six sentences were deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The sentences described examples of the PRC paying to publish media articles without attribution, sponsoring media travel to the PRC, pressuring journalists to withdraw articles and creating false accounts on social media to spread disinformation],” the NSICOP report states.
During the 2021 federal election in Canada, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force (SITE) noted that mainstream media and social media activities aimed at discouraging voters from supporting the Conservative Party. While a direct link to the Chinese government did not emerge, the pattern indicated a coordinated campaign orchestrated by China.
United Front Work Department: CCP’s machinery to bolster Chinese influence and interests on foreign soil
The NSICOP report detailed how CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) operates through several front organisations in foreign nations to serve China’s interests and expand its influence. These front organisations do not overtly declare their affiliation to the CCP. Front organisations tasked state-owned enterprises, Chinese-registered private companies, Chinese student organisations, foreign cultural organisations, foreign media, members of Chinese ethnocultural communities, and prominent businesspeople and political figures to support the CCP’s goals through democratic institutions and processes.
Notably, the UFWD is a well-funded department of the CCP. So much so, that in 2019, China spent over USD $2.6 billion on United Front Work, this amount is way more than it spent on China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“United front work has been successful in co-opting or subverting political opponents of the CCP and incentivizing public displays of support for the Party. The UFWD has produced propaganda, suppressed critical narratives, and engaged academics, media, businesses and politicians to influence them to adopt pro-China positions or avoid adopting what the PRC considers anti-China positions,” the report stated.
China targeted Canadian MPs for coercion or suppression
Based on the findings of the Canadian intelligence agency CSIS, the NSICOP report said that foreign actors have targeted federal parliamentarians to collect information to support potential future efforts to coerce them. Foreign actors have also intimidated or pressured parliamentarians who they perceived as having taken political positions counter to theirs.
The report mentioned that there were 11 candidates and 13 political staffers involved, “some of whom appeared to be wittingly working for the People’s Republic of China.”
The report also mentioned that a now-former MP used their position to develop a friendship with a foreign intelligence official. “According to CSIS, the member of Parliament sought to arrange a meeting in a foreign state with a senior intelligence official and also proactively provided the intelligence officer with information provided in confidence,” the report said.
According to the research, MPs frequently exchanged information about their own colleagues with foreign countries, recognising that the material would be used to pressure a fellow MP to alter their stand.
“Providing foreign diplomatic officials with privileged information on the work or opinions of fellow Parliamentarians, knowing that such information will be used by those officials to inappropriately pressure Parliamentarians to change their positions,” the report said.
The Chinese influence over Canadian parliamentarians magnified to such an extent that it began rewarding and punishing Canadian MPs based on their pro or anti-China opinions expressed in the House. The report mentions the case of Conservative PM Michael Chong and said that Chong had in February 2021, sponsored a vote in the House of Commons to identify the PRC’s treatment of its Uyghur population as genocide. However, it was only in May 2023, that he was made aware by the Canadian intelligence agencies about the Chinese threat to him and his family for his ‘anti-China’ stance.
China also interfered in the electoral nomination process and supported or opposed candidates by exploiting loopholes in the political party governance and administration. The report detailed how targeting the candidate nomination process benefitted China as some seats were considered safe seats, meaning that winning a nomination in a way ensured victory, thus not requiring China to directly meddle in the election itself. This was facilitated by the fact that nomination processes are not directly regulated or safeguarded by federal, provincial, or territorial legislation or enforcement bodies. Moreover, since nomination processes are governed by the different rules of each political party: breaking these rules is not illegal.
Ever since the redacted version of the NSICOP report came out in June this year, political turmoil has been unfolding in Canada with the Conservative leaders demanding that the identities and roles of the 11 ‘traitor’ MPs be publicly disclosed and action be taken against them.
Back in 2022, it was reported how the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had briefed Justin Trudeau about covert funding to 11 federal candidates in the 2019 elections. Earlier in 2011, a Conservative MP named Bob Dechert came under the scanner over his relationship with a Xinhua News reporter, Shi Rong. A former Chinese spy Li Fengzhi informed that the “act of striking up a relationship with an elected official fits the modus operandi of Chinese spies”. It is said that the interference of the Chinese deep State in the federal elections of 2021 led to the defeat of the Conservative camp.
In addition to political interference, China has also been employing espionage and operating police stations to strengthen its interests in Canada. In 2022, an electric vehicle battery researcher named Yuesheng Wang was booked for sending trade secrets of Hydro-Québec to China. Interestingly, China’s official response regarding the police stations it has set up in Canada is that the stations are set up to help expats renew their IDs or driving licences. However, these stations have been used for suppressing alleged anti-China sentiments.
As the NSICOP report revealed how China had influenced the 2019 and 2021 elections in Canada and how certain Canadian MPs colluded with a foreign power for electoral gain, instead of addressing the issue and demonstrating accountability, PM Justin Trudeau shifted focus toward India, making unfounded ‘trust me bro’ level allegations against Indian diplomats and alleging their involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar. This is a blatant attempt by the Liberal Party leader to divert domestic attention from the real threat to the Canadian people, the country’s democratic processes posed by China and the Trudeau government’s failure to prevent Chinese influence on Canadian elections and governance.
By targeting India, Trudeau appears to be eyeing minting both the Khalistani vote bank and also not upsetting China given that the CCP mostly targeted Conservative Party leaders. The Trudeau government, however, is not realising that it is harming the Canadian interests from two sides. On one side, Canada is losing a key ally like India and on the other, China is tightening its grip on Canada.
