The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has poured millions of dollars into a Chinese technology giant linked to foreign interference concerns in Canada, including allegations Communist Party operatives used the WeChat platform to target Conservative politicians during the last federal election.According to the CPP Investment Board’s latest annual report, the fund held approximately $145 million in Tencent Holdings, the Shenzhen-based company that operates WeChat, the Chinese-language social media platform repeatedly flagged by Canadian officials for spreading disinformation and intimidation campaigns.Blacklock's Reporter said the investment forms part of nearly $1.94 billion in CPP assets currently tied to Chinese companies.Internal federal government documents previously released through access-to-information requests warned Chinese state-linked actors used platforms such as WeChat to influence Canadian political discourse and interfere in elections.One Foreign Affairs memo stated monitors had observed “unusual account activity on WeChat that constitutes disinformation.”Another federal briefing warned Beijing was becoming increasingly sophisticated in conducting online influence operations targeting Canadians.Politicians allegedly targeted through WeChat campaigns included Conservative MP Michael Chong and former Conservative candidate Joe Tay in the Toronto-area riding of Don Valley North.Tay, a podcaster and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, testified before a Commons committee last year that RCMP officers warned him of a credible threat against his safety during the 2025 election campaign after wanted-style posters featuring his image circulated on WeChat.“The RCMP made an unscheduled visit to my house to inform me they had intercepted a credible threat to harm me during the election,” Tay told MPs.His campaign activities were subsequently suspended..Despite the controversy surrounding Tencent and WeChat, the CPP Investment Board did not respond to questions regarding the investment.Board chair Dean Connor defended the organization’s broader investment strategy in the annual report, praising staff in the CPP’s Hong Kong office and emphasizing the importance of “independent thinking” and asking difficult questions.“We recognize and thank Canadians for the trust they place in Canada Pension Plan Investments and in the Board,” Connor wrote.The CPP’s Chinese holdings extend far beyond Tencent.The pension fund also reported major investments in Chinese technology, banking and industrial firms, including $387 million in data centre operator GDS Holdings, $153 million in Fuyao Glass Industry Group and $114 million in Alibaba Group.Millions more are tied up in Chinese state-linked financial institutions including China Life Insurance, China Merchants Bank and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.The revelations come after a parliamentary committee on Canada-China relations recommended Ottawa create a formal blacklist prohibiting Canadian public pension plans from spending money in foreign companies linked to national security concerns, corruption or human rights abuses.The recommendation has not yet been implemented.
