Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and senior federal officials were briefed 163 times over a six-year period about foreign interference, including threats to Canadian democratic institutions, according to newly-disclosed records. Blacklock's Reporter says despite the repeated warnings, Trudeau claimed as recently as 2023 that he was unaware of any significant illegal activity by foreign agents, particularly from China.A logbook from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), submitted to the Commission on Foreign Interference, documented the 163 formal briefings, which spanned from August 1, 2018, to March 15, 2024. The meetings covered potential interference during the 2019 and 2021 general elections, with CSIS flagging threats, including potentially illegal conduct by foreign actors.“This list does not include additional ad hoc meetings that may have occurred,” the document noted, underscoring that these were planned, formal briefings specifically focused on foreign interference in Canadian institutions.Despite the extensive briefings, Trudeau maintained as late as May 2023 that CSIS never escalated the information to his level, suggesting it did not reach the necessary threshold of concern. “The Canadian Security Intelligence Service knew about certain things but didn’t feel it reached a threshold that required them to pass it up out of CSIS,” Trudeau told reporters at the time. He added, “CSIS made the determination it wasn’t something that needed to be raised to a higher level because it wasn’t a significant enough concern.”However, the logbook revealed that the prime minister, along with high-ranking officials such as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Bill Blair, and other cabinet members, were briefed about the ongoing threats. Notably, no Opposition MPs targeted by foreign agents were warned during this period.David Vigneault, the former director of CSIS, testified on April 12, confirming that he had indeed communicated these issues to the government. “I have verbalized some of these issues in the past,” Vigneault said, underscoring that the concerns had been raised with the government.One of the most alarming documents, dated February 21, 2023, explicitly warned the Prime Minister's Office that Chinese agents posed an "existential threat to Canadian democracy." This memo came three months before Trudeau told the media he had not been warned about foreign interference.“It truly is a remarkable document,” said Gib van Ert, counsel for Conservative MP Michael Chong, during the Commission hearings. The six-page, top-secret memo detailed Chinese subterfuge targeting the Conservative Party during the 2019 and 2021 elections.The memo further warned that foreign actors were succeeding in their interference efforts because of the lack of significant legal or political consequences. “Until foreign interference is viewed as an existential threat to Canadian democracy and governments forcefully and actively respond, these threats will persist,” the briefing stated.
