Poilievre Praises ‘Courageous Whistleblowers’ in Security Apparatus for Leaking Files on China’s Election Interference

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at the the National Coalition of Chiefs Clean Energy Summit In Calgary on Feb. 17, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Dave Chidley)

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre praised the “courageous whistleblowers” in Canada’s security apparatus for leaking top-secret documents on China’s interference in the 2021 federal election, as he levelled criticism at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for “covering up the interference of the authoritarian regime in Beijing.”

The Globe and Mail reported on the leaked documents on Feb. 17, which said Beijing had mobilized its consulates to leverage politically active Chinese community members and organizations to execute an elaborate strategy that had two goals: the re-election of a minority Liberal government and the defeat of Conservative candidates who have been vocal against the Chinese communist regime.

The Globe said the CSIS documents were “shared among senior government officials” as well as with Canada’s allies in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some of the intelligence was also shared with French and German spy services, the Globe said.

At a press conference in Calgary on Feb. 17, Poilievre questioned Trudeau’s claim last November that he was never briefed by intelligence officials about federal candidates receiving money from China. His comment relates to a Nov. 7, 2022, Global News report alleging that Trudeau was briefed by security officials about covert funding provided by China to 11 candidates in the 2019 federal election.

Trudeau said on on Nov. 20, 2022, that he wasn’t briefed about “any federal candidates receiving any money from China.”

“Is it really believable that CSIS would write an entire report and share it with foreign governments without actually telling our own Prime Minister? Is it really believable that the many reports that have been written over the last four years about this that have now come to light in newspapers because they’ve been leaked by courageous whistleblowers inside our intelligence apparatus never were brought before the Prime Minister of Canada?” Poilievre said.

“Of course, that is not believable.”

The Globe report cited a Chinese consulate official, whose quotes were provided in the CSIS documents, saying that while being unhappy with the Liberals’ recent criticism of China, Beijing still considers the Liberal Party better than its Canadian counterparts.

“The Liberal Party of Canada is becoming the only party that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] can support,” said the official, according to the Globe.

Poilievre claimed that Trudeau covered up information of the Chinese interference.

“Justin Trudeau knew about this interference and he covered it up because he benefited from it,” he said.

“He is perfectly happy to let a foreign authoritarian government interfere in our elections as long as they’re helping him. And according to the Globe and Mail story today, this foreign authoritarian government wanted to see Justin Trudeau as prime minister because they knew that he would work for their interests rather than Canada’s interest.”

The CSIS documents said Beijing sought to defeat Conservative MPs who are critical of the communist regime. China’s former consul-general in Vancouver, Tong Xiaoling, bragged about her role in defeating two Conservative candidates in the 2021 election, according to the Globe.

CSIS also reported in November 2021 about Tong’s remarks on defeating a Vancouver-area Conservative. The Globe cited an unnamed national-security source who said Tong was referring to Kenny Chiu, former MP for Steveston–Richmond East in B.C.

Chiu is widely believed to be a victim of China’s election interference, largely due to his promotion of legislation to create a foreign agent registry which would compel actors working on behalf of foreign entities to register their activities with the federal government.

Government Response

Trudeau defended his government’s efforts to combat foreign interference, which he said comes as no surprise.

“I have been saying for years, including on the floor of the House of Commons, that China is trying to interfere in our democracy, in the processes in our country, including during our elections. We are aware of this,” he said at a press conference on Feb. 17, when asked about the Globe report.

“For the 2019, and for the 2021 elections, and for elections going forward, this government created a panel of top civil servants, who would lean on all the information provided to them by our security agencies like CSIS to ensure that interference by foreign actors does not affect the running or the outcomes of our elections,” he added.

“All Canadians can have total confidence that the outcomes of the 2019 and the 2021 elections were determined by Canadians and Canadians alone.”

Several Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs raised the issue in Parliament on Feb. 17, while others took to social media to criticize the Liberal government’s lack of action and transparency on Chinese interference on Canadian soil.