Elections Canada, in a recent report to the China inquiry, has now revealed it was aware of at least 149 complaints of foreign interference during the last two general elections. Blacklock's Reporter says this contrasts sharply with the agency's previous assurances to MPs, where it claimed no knowledge of such interference.“Elections Canada received 18,889 complaints during the 2019 general election and 16,984 during the 2021 general election,” the agency stated in its Institutional Report to the Commission on Foreign Interference. Out of these, a total of 149 complaints were related to concerns about foreign interference. Sixty of these were forwarded for investigation by the Commissioner of Elections, but none resulted in any action.The report highlighted that, “In both elections, cases described concerns related to potential foreign third-party financing and potential undue influence by foreigners, with the complainant suggesting an offence under the Canada Elections Act may have been committed.” It also mentioned that “the remaining complaints about foreign interference included concerns about international political or social figures endorsing Canadian candidates through social media, which is not prohibited under the Act.”Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault testified in 2022 at the House affairs committee, assuring MPs that he had no evidence or intelligence of Chinese agents breaching the Elections Act. “I have no specific intelligence or evidence in that regard,” he stated.When questioned by Conservative MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert-Edmonton) if the Prime Minister or anyone in his office had reported any particulars concerning a campaign of interference by Beijing, Perrault replied, “I am not aware of any specifics.” He reiterated, “No report has been made by the Prime Minister or anyone in his office?”“There may be offences that are committed that we find out after the fact and there may be investigations that are or are not underway that I would know about but with the information I have, I have no reason to believe the election was not a free and fair election,” Perrault told MPs at the time.Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, in a May 3 Initial Report, concluded that foreign interference occurred in the 2019 and 2021 general elections. “I have no difficulty concluding that there was,” she wrote.Evidence revealed that in one instance, Elections Canada received specific complaints alleging the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver spent thousands to benefit a Liberal candidate in Vancouver East in 2021. The Commissioner of Elections was reportedly “less interested in the issue,” according to documents released by the China inquiry.Chief Electoral Officer Perrault, in his March 28 testimony at the inquiry, clarified that it was not his responsibility to police elections. “I am not called upon to certify the integrity of an election,” said Perrault. “What I am called upon to do is account for it and provide evidence regarding my administration of the election for others, including participants who may wish to challenge.”.Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
