Justin Trudeau calls China’s election intervention ‘aggressive’

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09th Nov, 2022. 12:18 am
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Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has charged China with attempting to sway the nation’s elections.
Beijing is allegedly targeting Canadian institutions and engaging in “aggressive games” with democracies.
Local media report that Canadian intelligence identified a “clandestine network” of Beijing-backed candidates.

Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, has charged China with attempting to sway the nation’s elections.

Beijing is allegedly targeting Canadian institutions and engaging in “aggressive games” with democracies, according to Mr. Trudeau.

It comes as local media report that Canadian intelligence identified a “clandestine network” of Beijing-backed candidates at recent elections.

Officials reportedly informed Mr. Trudeau that at least 11 candidates in the 2019 federal elections were supported by China.

China has “no interest,” according to a representative for the foreign ministry, in the domestic issues of Canada.

Local television Global News claimed that anonymous intelligence officials had said Beijing had given the candidates money and that Chinese operatives had advised many of the candidates’ campaigns.

In one instance, $250,000 (£160,000) in funding was sent through the office of a provincial MP with a seat in Ontario.

The operation, which was apparently overseen from China’s consulate in Toronto, also allegedly aimed to embed agents into the offices of sitting MPs in an effort to sway policy.

And efforts were also made to “co-opt and corrupt” former Canadian officials in a bid to gain influence within political circles.

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Both of the major political parties—Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party and the opposition Conservative Party—are thought to have been the targets of the attempted involvement. It’s unclear, though, whether the procedure was effective.

“We have taken significant measures to strengthen the integrity of our elections processes and our systems, and will continue to invest in the fight against election interference, against foreign interference of our democracies and institutions,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters on Monday.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing countries, state actors from around the world, whether it’s China or others, are continuing to play aggressive games with our institutions, with our democracies,” he added.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, asserted that China has no desire to interfere with Canadian elections.

“State-to-state relations can only be built on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” he told a press briefing.

“Canada should stop making remarks that hurt China-Canada relations,” he added.

The reports come after officials declared that they were looking into claims that China had established unauthorized “police” stations on Canadian land.

Last month, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they were investigating reports of “criminal activity in relation to so-called ‘police’ stations”, which have also been reported in a number of European countries.

A number of EU nations, including Ireland and the Netherlands, have already demanded that China shut down the police stations since it is believed that they have been used to coerce opposition figures to return to China and face criminal proceedings.

The so-called overseas service stations, which claim to offer diplomatic services, have been implicated in an effort to stifle Chinese dissidents in Europe, according to media.

Justin Trudeau calls China’s election intervention ‘aggressive’

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