China’s influence on Canadian politics and elections, long talked about but underestimated, is confirmed by intelligence leaks.
The leaks suggest evidence that the Chinese regime prefers Canada to be governed by Trudeau’s Liberal Party and that Chinese agents were involved in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
The opposition asks for a check
The opposition in Canada is demanding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who for years has seemed afraid to offend Chinese leader Xi Jinping, open an independent investigation into recent leaks by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on how whose China would have influenced the Canadian elections.
Reported allegations include direct donations to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and busing supporters to nomination rallies for specific candidates.
The racism map
Trudeau, who tried to play down the allegations, said the leaks contained a lot inaccuracies which he cannot specify for “confidentiality reasons”. He also linked them to anti-Asian racism. And he criticizes the intelligence service for not having been able to investigate, which allowed the information to leak:
– Of course, we are always concerned about national security. We are always keen to ensure that people can trust that our intelligence agencies in particular are able to do their job, keep their secrets, and operate responsibly.
– We are very concerned about the leaks, especially because they contain many inaccuracies. But that’s a completely different question.
Trudeau pauses at the end to think carefully about how to indicate that the CSIS leak is disinformation. This is just misinformation Justin until proven correct.
Apparently, the Trudeau Foundation donation information was very accurate.
Lies beget lies until there is no substance of truth. pic.twitter.com/0zzx3pjveA—Stuart Woodman (@Jed6767) March 2, 2023
Concerned about leaks
The Prime Minister’s Office, which seems more concerned with the reality of the leaks than their content, writes:
– According to the law on information security, persons who are entrusted with a secret note, document or information are legally bound not to divulge it to persons who are not authorized to receive the information.
Trudeau asks the agency to act alone:
– This is certainly a sign that CSIS security needs to be reviewed, and I expect CSIS to take the issue very seriously.
Eleven candidates supported by Beijing in 2021
In early February reported Globe and Mail that documents from the Canadian intelligence service CSIS prove Chinese interference in the election of eleven Liberal candidates in 2021.
The stated objective was to secure the election of a minority Liberal government while preventing the election of some Conservative candidates.
Following the CSIS leaks, several incidents of probable, covert or overt Chinese influence have come to light. One example is the proposal that came as part of the donation to the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation (discussed below), for a statue of Mao Zedong and Pierre Trudeau together at the University of Montreal.
China uses its consulates
The Chinese government has instructed its consulates to use members of Chinese society and organizations to promote its interests, while doing its best to cover its tracks to Beijing.
China saw Trudeau as the one who best served their interests, but also wanted to limit his ability to make decisions unfavorable to Beijing.
Han Dong’s Appointment
According to leaked documents, for example, Liberal MP Han Dong, who immigrated to Canada from Shanghai in the 1990s, received help from the Chinese consulate in Toronto during the Liberal Party’s nomination in 2019.
The consulate must have transported seniors and students to the appointment meeting. CSIS urged Prime Minister Trudeau’s office to rescind Dong’s appointment due to suspicions of foreign influence. Han Dong denies the charges.
China donated $1 million
China tried to influence Trudeau via a secret $1 million donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, named after the current prime minister’s father.
The Globe and Mail writes that CSIS intercepted a conversation in 2014 between Chinese billionaire Zhang Bin, who was an adviser to the Chinese government, and an official at the Chinese consulates in Canada where the 2015 election was discussed.
The official urged Zhang to donate $1 million to the Trudeau Foundation with the promise of reimbursement from China.
This is in addition to allegations of Chinese interference in the elections in favor of the liberals.
Trudeau knew nothing
After Trudeau came to power in October 2015, Zhang attended a charity party for the Liberal Party where Prime Minister Trudeau was the guest of honor.
A few weeks later, the Trudeau Foundation announced that it had received a million dollar gift from Zhang in “memory” of Pierre Trudeau.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office denied that Trudeau knew about the donation.
“After being elected leader of the Liberal Party, the Prime Minister withdrew his involvement with the foundation as long as he is engaged in federal politics,” Trudeau’s press secretary told The Globe and Mail.
Due to the pandemic
On Monday, Trudeau denied that China tried to influence the election and suggested the allegations about it were a form of anti-Asian racism.
– One of the things we have unfortunately seen after the pandemic is an increase in anti-Asian racism and concerns about people’s loyalty.
Unreasonable claim
In response to Han Dong benefiting from Chinese-arranged people transportation to the nomination meeting, Trudeau said such claims “are not considered.”
– I want everyone to understand that Han Dong is an outstanding member of our team. Claims that he is somehow disloyal to Canada are unreasonable.
Canadians can have full confidence
He could also reassure Canadians that the elections were conducted in accordance with the regulations:
– All Canadians can have full confidence that the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 elections was decided by Canadians and Canadians alone.
Conservative Representative Walied Soliman was not so confident:
Worse still: our party saw clear signs of tampering in constituencies with large Chinese diasporas. We made a conscious decision to go through the appropriate working group and security channels. Our concerns were never taken seriously.
— Walied Soliman (@waliedesq) February 17, 2023
National Security Advisor Judy Thomas believes it is the leaks that threaten the country’s security, not China’s manipulation of the legislative elections:
CSIS leaks to the media jeopardize national security!
JT: “Illegal information sharing and inappropriate sharing jeopardizes our national security, jeopardizes institutions, and endangers people, both employees and subjects of investigation.” pic.twitter.com/MuOvlVhj08
— Jaro Giesbrecht 🇨🇦🇸🇰 (@JaroGiesbrecht) March 1, 2023
Not so long ago, Trudeau people believed that the Russians were behind Freedom Convoy 2022:
According to CSIS leaks, Liberal MP Han Dong has been chosen by Communist Chinese as their man in Toronto, one of 11 China-based candidates who have benefited from foreign interference in Canada’s electoral process since 2019.
REPORT the city @SheilaGunnReid: https://t.co/NjeOi6jifP pic.twitter.com/UDhR0zBuuC
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) March 1, 2023
Buy Kent Andersen’s e-book here!
Buy “The Master and Margarita” here!
Buy Susanne Wiesinger’s book “Kulturkamp i klasroomt” here! You can also buy the e-book here.
The document brings about forty other news. Support us!
“Passionate pop cultureaholic. Proud bacon trailblazer. Avid analyst. Certified reader.”