Canada slow to respond to China and India meddling, but election results unchanged: report
An investigation found that China is the most active perpetrator of foreign electoral interference in Canada, with India coming next
The Canadian government was slow in responding to efforts by China and India to interfere in the country’s elections but their outcome was unaffected by the meddling, an official probe said in a final report released on Tuesday.
The report was the culmination of a probe set up in September 2023 in response to media reports about possible Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections, both of which were won by the ruling Liberals.
The conclusion confirmed the findings of an interim report released last May that said foreign interference had not changed the results of the elections but eroded public trust in the electoral system.
China condemned the findings, saying they were “groundless accusations and smears”.
“China has always been upholding the non-interference principle in internal affairs and has never interfered in the internal affairs of Canada, nor is it interested in doing so,” its embassy in Ottawa said in a statement, and accused Canada of interference in China’s internal affairs.
India too rejected the allegations in the report and accused Canada of “consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs”.
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