OTAWA –
Chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault says he was informed by Canada’s spy agency during the 2019 general election about possible foreign meddling in a political nomination race.
A document presented Thursday to a commission of inquiry into foreign interference says Perrault decided at the time that no action could be taken on the issue in the Don Valley North area of Toronto.
As director of Elections Canada, Perrault is responsible for ensuring that Canadians can exercise their democratic rights to vote and run for office.
The document, a summary of the commission’s classified interview with Perrault, says he noted that participation in a nomination contest is not regulated in the same way as an election.
Perrault also noted that no other participants in the nomination contest had filed any complaints.
A 2023 media report alleged that China interfered with Han Dong’s nomination as the Liberal candidate in Don Valley North in 2019.
At Thursday’s inquiry, Perrault was asked whether the matter brought to him by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service involved the Liberal Party nomination race.
Perrault said he was not authorized to go beyond what was stated in the document.
In the interview with the commission, he said that after the 2019 elections, an audit of the nomination contest report was carried out as part of the normal process.
The file was referred to the Office of the Commissioner of Elections of Canada, which conducts investigations, for reasons possibly unrelated to the allegation of interference, such as accuracy, completeness or failure to meet filing deadlines.
The investigative hearings delve into the alleged interference of China, India, Russia and others in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.
Overall, Perrault told the inquiry that he is confident in the integrity of the last two elections regarding his mandate.
In his report last May, David Johnston, special rapporteur appointed by the government to investigate possible foreign meddling, said irregularities were noted in Dong’s 2019 nomination.
Johnston said there were “well-founded suspicions” that the irregularities were linked to the Chinese consulate in Toronto, with whom Dong had a relationship.
However, Johnston found no evidence that Dong was aware of the irregularities or the consulate’s possible involvement in his nomination.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was informed about the irregularities, although no specific recommendation was provided, Johnston added. “He concluded that there was no basis for displacing Mr Dong as the candidate for Don Valley North. This was not an unreasonable conclusion based on the intelligence available to the Prime Minister at the time.”
During his testimony Thursday, Perrault said he agreed with the idea that a person who wants to vote in a political party nomination contest should first be required to purchase a membership in the party using a payment source with based in Canada, such as a bank account or credit card.
The inquiry, led by Quebec Judge Marie-Josee Hogue, expects to hear evidence from more than 40 people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, cabinet ministers and representatives of political parties.
The initial report of the commission’s conclusions is due May 3.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.