Highlights: Canada: public inquiry into possible foreign interference in elections. A public commission of inquiry is beginning its work to understand whether countries like China, Russia and India did indeed try to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections. After banning Tik-Tok from the phones of Canadian civil servants, then elected officials, Canada began to worry about possible interference by China in its elections. Media reports revealed that MPs lost the elections due to Beijing's maneuvers on the Chinese diaspora, a population of 1.7 million people.

For more than a year, Canada has wondered whether certain countries had an impact on the vote of voters, particularly those from diasporas. A public commission of inquiry begins its work…

Canada: public inquiry into possible foreign interference in elections

For more than a year, Canada has wondered whether certain countries had an impact on the vote of voters, particularly those from diasporas. A public commission of inquiry is beginning its work to understand whether countries like China, Russia and India did indeed try to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections.

A voter going to a polling station in 2019 during the federal election in Nova Scotia, Canada. © Andrew Vaughan / AP

By: RFI Follow

The commission began its hearings yesterday Monday which will last all week. Ministers, deputies and representatives of intelligence services must notably answer questions from a judge to understand the phenomenon and recommend to the government measures to take to fight against foreign interference, reports our correspondent,

Pascale Guéricolas

After

banning Tik-Tok from the phones

of Canadian civil servants, then elected officials, Canada began to worry about possible interference by China in its elections. Media reports revealed that MPs lost the elections due to Beijing's maneuvers on the Chinese diaspora, a population of 1.7 million people among the 38 million Canadians.

In March 2023, parliamentarians called for an in-depth investigation

into a more direct influence on the country's last elections, in October 2021.

After having long denied the problem,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally set up this commission

which is chaired by an independent judge, Marie-Josée Hogue. “

Foreign interference in our democratic institutions is a very serious problem

,” she said in her opening remarks.

The commission will in particular try to learn more about what happened where a majority of citizens of Chinese origin live. Investigations have shown that companies have hired students from China to work to elect certain candidates more favorable to Beijing. Aspiring deputies, targeted by the Chinese government, have been the subject of

disinformation campaigns on social networks

. And an elected official, very involved in the

Uyghurs issue

, a Muslim minority persecuted in China, feared for his extended family based in Hong Kong.

Chinese President X Jinping met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on November 16, 2023, during the APEC forum in San Francisco. At their side Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister. REUTERS - KEVIN LAMARQUE

Also read: “Between Canada and China, there are many problems dating back to 2018”

China has always formally denied any intervention, citing “

slander

”. For Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, the government “

should have reacted much more quickly

”. “

What is at stake here is our democracy and the protection of our values. We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere

,” he told AFP.

The commission will also look into suspicions of Indian or Russian influence in the country and must deliver an interim report in early May before concluding at the end of 2024.

Read alsoAssassination of a Sikh leader in Canada: Narendra Modi promises an investigation

New hearings are also planned for March. However, it will be necessary to see whether the intelligence services agree to publicly share the results of their investigations and what means can be deployed to protect the vote from foreign influence without harming freedom of expression.

Canada: public inquiry into possible foreign interference in elections

Canada: public inquiry into possible foreign interference in elections

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