No Indian interference in Canada’s poll process: Public inquiry
That emerged as officials who were part of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol testified before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions
Toronto: A panel of senior Canadian officials monitoring the 2021 elections in the country were not informed of any attempt by India at influencing those national polls.
That emerged as officials who were part of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol testified before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, which is headed by Justice Marie-Josee Hogue, on Monday.
The absence of such a foreign interference (FI) alert was cited by the Canadian news outlet Globe and Mail’s senior parliamentary reporter Steven Chase, as he posted on X, “Panel of bureaucrats that monitored 2021 election tells foreign interference inquiry they were not informed of any potential FI activity from India during the 2021 campaign.”
However, a briefing note submitted to the Public Inquiry on Monday pointed to Chinese interference during that election cycle. That was prepared by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and provided to the Prime Minister’s Office in February 2023. That document, titled Briefing to the Prime Minister’s Office on Foreign Interference Threats to Canada’s Democratic Institutions, said, “We know that the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.” PRC refers to the People’s Republic of China.
The target was the principal opposition Conservative Party and its then leader Erin O’Toole, who had adopted a platform that was sharply critical of Beijing. “In 2021, the PRC FI were almost certainly motivated by a perception that the Conservative Party of Canada was promoted on a platform that was perceived to be anti-PRC,” the CSIS note stated.
These details came up as the public hearings for the Inquiry enter the final stretch, concluding on Wednesday, with senior officials including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expected to appear before it.
India has denied it is involved in FI activity in Canada. Last week, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections. It is not the Government of India’s policy to interfere in the democratic processes of other countries. In fact, quite the opposite, it is Canada which has been interfering in our internal affairs.”
However, India has been named during the hearings and cited by CSIS in connection with conducting FI activity in Canada, along with Russia, Iran and Pakistan, other than China, which is considered the main player in this regard by Canadian agencies.
