Poilievre quashes Indian interference allegations as Singh, Carney go on attack

Tory leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday dismissed allegations Indian agents interfered with his 2022 Conservative leadership victory, where he won 68% of the vote.

The Globe & Mail early Tuesday morning published a story based on a “source with top security clearance” who read a CSIS report that alleges Indian agents meddled in the leadership race by raising funds and bolster Canada’s South Asian community to help Poilievre win.

The intelligence agency did not indicate these efforts were executed in a sweeping and highly organized way, the source said, according to the Globe.

The publication also noted CSIS had no evidence Poilievre or his acquaintances were aware of the alleged foreign interference, and did not notify Poilievre of its suspicions.

A reporter asked Poilievre about the allegations while he was announcing a GST cut on new homes under $1.3 million at a press conference in Vaughan, north of Toronto.

“Let's be honest. I won the leadership race fair and square. I had a lot of support, it was a massive win, and I didn't need anyone else's help,” replied Poilievre.

“Even my political competitors, like Mr. Patrick Brown, have publicly testified under oath that that was the case.”

The CBC reported CSIS didn’t notify Poilievre because he didn’t have his security clearance — however, Poilievre on Monday explained he was already cleared to receive any intelligence CSIS deemed necessary due to his previous role as a cabinet minister.

"What I will not do is commit to the oath of secrecy that the Liberals want to impose on me. They don't want me to be able to speak about these matters," said Poilievre on Tuesday.

"They will bring you into a dark room and say, 'We will give you some breadcrumbs of intel and then we will tell you you can't talk about any of this stuff anymore.'"

Liberal leader Mark Carney said Poilievre is “irresponsible” for opting out of the security clearance, which would have gagged the Conservative leader, preventing him from holding the government to account as the official opposition leader.

Poilievre’s decision not to get security clearance is “beyond baffling,” Carney told reporters in Halifax.

"I find it beyond baffling, I find it down right irresponsible, that the leader of the opposition, day after day, month after month, year after year, refuses to obtain his security clearance," he said.

"As a normal course, in peacetime, when times are tranquil, that's unacceptable then. But at this point in our history, when we face the greatest threats that we faced in generations in most of our lifetimes, he has to answer for that."

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Tuesday said he believes the allegations and is “concerned” by them.

“Just the allegations alone, should have made Pierre Poilievre say, ‘well, there are allegations of foreign interference impacting my own leadership race, if you care about the country, if you care about democracy, you get security clearance and find out as much as possible to protect our country.’”

“But he chose not to,” said Singh.

“The only reason he chose not to was because he wanted to put his party, his partisan interests first. To me, that disqualifies you as a prime minister candidate. It's not someone that you can trust to stand up for interference, and he has shown that, and this new information confirms that this is not someone that takes the threats against our country seriously, and it is not someone that we can trust.”

“It's a real concern. Foreign interference, as the public inquiry outlined, is a real threat,” said Singh.

“They outline in many ways where — one of the ways is misinformation and disinformation as a serious concern around our elections, our democracy, and eroding or undermining our ability to have free and fair elections.”

“So I'm worried about that. I think we need to do everything possible as leaders of parties to prevent anything from happening.

“And I've gotten my security clearance, I will continue to get updates on anything that I can do to defend our country and our democracy.”