Former parliamentarian worked on behalf of foreign government to influence Parliament: CSIS

A foreign government tried to get a Liberal candidate defeated and a former parliamentarian is suspected of having worked to influence parliamentary business on behalf of a foreign government, the public inquiry into interference in Canadian politics was told Friday.

Officials from the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) unveiled two new examples of such foreign interference, in addition to four examples that had been released publicly. 

Officials did not name the countries suspected in the newest examples of foreign interference, or the parliamentarians involved.

CSIS said the list it compiled for the inquiry in July cited seven examples of foreign interference in Canadian politics. The agency said information that subsequently came to light led it to reassess one case involving an MP and drop it from the list.

“CSIS continues to view this as a suspected instance of foreign interference as it demonstrated a foreign government attempting to build, maintain or leverage relationships with parliamentarians using clandestine, deceptive or threatening tactics as defined in the CSIS Act,” CSIS said in a brief submitted to the inquiry.

CSIS officials said China is the country most actively trying to interfere in Canada’s affairs, followed by India. They also warned that the conflict in the Middle East could lead Iran to interfere in the next federal election.

Friday’s testimony came after the inquiry asked CSIS to compile a list of all known examples of foreign interference in Canadian politics. In addition to the two new cases, the list includes:

• The government of Pakistan attempting to “clandestinely influence Canadian federal politics” to advance its interests in Canada.
• Foreign interference that resulted in a briefing to the security-cleared representatives of the Liberal Party of Canada shortly before the 2021 election, and to the prime minister shortly after.
• A foreign government actively supporting a candidate in a 2019 nomination race in Don Valley North. Earlier in its hearings, the inquiry heard testimony stating that the Chinese consulate in Toronto arranged for busloads of students to vote for Liberal nomination candidate Han Dong in that riding.
• The government of India being suspected of using proxy agents to, according to a CSIS document tabled at the inquiry, “clandestinely provide financial support to specific candidates from three political parties in a federal election. The receipt of funds cannot be confirmed, nor the candidates’ potential awareness of the origins.”

More to come …