A new survey reveals that over half of Canadians believe that there has been significant interference from foreign governments have in Canadian elections.
According to data from Ipsos, 52% of Canadians strongly agree or somewhat agree that foreign governments have significantly interfered (i.e., enough to change outcomes) in recent elections in Canada.
Only 37% strongly or somewhat believe that claims of foreign interference have been exaggerated by the media or opposition politicians, while 41% disagree, believing that the reporting has been at least somewhat accurate.
Meanwhile, less than half (44%) strongly or somewhat believe that “the current judicial inquiry led by Justice Hogue into foreign government interference in Canadian elections will get to the bottom of what has really been going on.”
Additionally, despite the Liberals unveiling Bill C-70, the ‘Countering Foreign Interference Act’—too little, too late—less than half of Canadians are confident this act will actually protect Canadians’ democracy from foreign interference.
Liberal voters, unsurprisingly, are much more confident (62%) in the Liberals’ ability to counteract foreign interference than Conservative voters (40%) despite evidence that the Liberal PM was alerted to serious concerns of possible foreign interference and did nothing.
China definitely interfered in the last election
During the public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections last month, it was revealed that CSIS was well aware of foreign interference, and so was Trudeau, despite his claiming otherwise.
As per a CSIS document drafted in response to leaks of potential foreign interference in the 2021 election, CSIS officials wrote, “We know that the [People’s Republic of China] clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.”
The document also says that the interference was “pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either ‘pro PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the PRC government.”
Moreover, this interference all went in one way, i.e., it was for the Liberals and against the Conservatives, due to the Chinese Communist Party believing the Liberals would take a soft-on-China approach while the Conservatives would take a tougher stance.
