The Commission examining foreign interference within Canada’s electoral system has announced that starting March 27, over forty individuals including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will testify at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, led by Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue.
Prime Minister Trudeau, once reluctant to greenlight a public inquiry, now finds himself at the center of the hearings.
The hearings aim to delve into the potential foreign influence on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
As previously reported, alleged CSIS leaks state that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interfered in Canada’s 2021 election to help the Trudeau Liberals win and cause the Conservatives to lose.
Over the next two weeks, the Commission will engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including diaspora communities, political figures, and representatives from Elections Canada.
“A goal for these hearings is to give citizens a better understanding of the foreign interference threats our electoral system may have faced in the 2019 and 2021 elections,” Commissioner Hogue said.
The move follows intense scrutiny over Trudeau’s handling of foreign interference allegations, including the controversial engagement of a family friend to conduct an investigation into the matter instead of a public inquiry. His family friend, David Johnston, eventually stepped down amid criticisms alleging he was partial to Trudeau.
After several months of pressure, Trudeau finally agreed to allow a public inquiry, appointing Justice Hogue to lead it. The Counter Signal subsequently reported that Justice Hogue spent over two decades at Heenan Blaikie, which has numerous connections to the Trudeau family and Liberal government.
All federal political parties agreed to have Justice Hogue lead the inquiry.
CCP “employed a sophisticated strategy”
Robert Fife from the Globe and Mail reported in February 2023 that the CCP “employed a sophisticated strategy” to interfere in the election outcome so that the Trudeau Liberals could form a minority government.
“The Liberal Party of Canada is becoming the only party that the PRC can support,” said a Chinese consulate, as quoted in Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents reported by Fife.
Global News also broke the story that the CCP secretly funded at least 11 CCP-affiliated candidates in Canada’s 2019 federal election.
