Evidence surfaces of China funding 11 candidates in Canada poll

Canadian intelligence officials have warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that China has been targeting Canada by acts such as funding a clandestine network of at least 11 federal candidates running in the 2019 election, according to a report in Global News.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) reported that China’s Toronto consulate directed a large clandestine transfer of funds to a network of at least eleven federal election candidates and numerous Beijing operatives who worked as their campaign staffers, according to the article written by journalist Sam Coopers in Global News.

The allegations included other detailed examples of Beijing’s efforts to further its influence and, in turn, subvert Canada’s democratic process, sources said.

“Based on recent information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), those efforts allegedly involve payments through intermediaries to candidates affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), placing agents in the offices of MPs in order to influence policy, seeking to co-opt and corrupt former Canadian officials to gain leverage in Ottawa, and mounting aggressive campaigns to punish Canadian politicians whom the People’s Republic of China (PRC) views as threats to its interests,” the Global News report states.

CSIS confirmed it has identified the PRC’s foreign interference in Canada, which can include covert funding to influence election outcomes.

“The Chinese Communist Party … is using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty,” CSIS stated.

The briefings did not identify the 2019 candidates. But the alleged election interference network included members from both the Liberal and Conservative parties, the report said.