Karina Gould said such attempts at foreign interference were not uncommon.
Ottawa:
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), former Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould revealed that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) informed her of China’s low-level interference after the 2019 federal election.
However, Gould clarified that despite these activities, the integrity of the vote remains intact.
Gould, who served as minister from early 2017 to November 2019, testified before the foreign interference inquiry that the Center for Strategic and International Studies had briefed her on Beijing’s involvement in preparations for the October 2019 election. She added that such attempts at foreign interference were not uncommon and likened them to historical events dating back to ancient Greece, CBC reported.
“There have been attempts at foreign interference in probably every election held in Canada, just as there have been attempts at foreign interference in every election in democracies around the world – probably since the ancient Greeks,” Gould said.
“Whether they succeed is another question,” she added.
Speaking about her involvement in addressing potential threats to federal elections, Gould elaborated on the creation of the five-member panel, a group of bureaucrats tasked with assessing such risks. She highlighted the panel’s decision not to issue a public alert despite attempts by China and other state actors to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 elections, noting that the panel believed those attempts did not meet the threshold for public disclosure.
Notably, both elections were won by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Gould defended the panel’s high threshold, saying, “The very act of deciding to announce something publicly could be considered interference.”
She added that she was not briefed on foreign interference during the 2019 election because of her vested interest in the outcome, believing it would be inappropriate to receive such intelligence briefings.
The inquiry, overseen by Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue, aims to assess the dissemination of information within the government about alleged interference in the previous two federal elections, CBC reported.
The investigation, driven by media reports and opposition demands, delved into various allegations, including that former Liberal candidate Han Dong was involved in China’s foreign interference network during the 2019 election.
However, Jeremy Broadhurst, the Liberal Party’s national campaign director for the 2019 federal election, dismissed the claims, saying security officials were only providing information and did not make recommendations or recommend specific actions that should be taken.
Prior to testifying, Gould engaged with committee staff in a confidential setting to address concerns related to the Don Valley North riding and alleged foreign interference during the Toronto-area nomination contest. She clarified that she had not been briefed on these matters during or after the election.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also scheduled to testify, marking an important moment in the investigation.
While Trudeau’s appearance was initially intended to wrap up this phase of the inquiry, Commissioner Hogg agreed to recall David Vigneault, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in response to further inquiries about certain documents. According to CBC, Hogg is expected to release an interim report in early May, after which the investigation will turn to broader policy discussions, with the goal of releasing a final report before the end of the year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
