Walied Soliman appears virtually as a witness at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, in Ottawa, on April 2.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The group of senior bureaucrats responsible for detecting threats to the 2021 federal election failed to share explicit intelligence about Chinese state interference that was aimed at electing sympathetic MPs and targeting Conservative candidates, the public inquiry into foreign meddling heard Tuesday.
Documents tabled at the commission on foreign interference show that the Security and Intelligence Threat to Elections Task Force, known as SITE and comprised of senior civil servants, had classified intelligence that outlined sophisticated Chinese state influence operations in Canadian democracy.
A July, 2021, SITE document, written before the election was called on Aug. 15, said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “is highly capable, motivated, and acts in a sophisticated, pervasive manner in carrying out foreign interference operations … to further party state interests.”
The document, titled “SITE briefing to secret cleared federal political parties,” went on to say China “covertly directs financial and voting support for favourable candidates” who are viewed as pro-China or do not “openly oppose viewpoints important to the PRC.” The vote was held on Sept. 20, with the Liberals returning with another minority government.
This information was never shared with the senior representatives of the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties who received national-security clearances to be briefed on foreign interference in the 2021 election.
“I don’t recall getting this document,” said Walied Soliman, chair of Norton Rose Fulbright law firm and co-chair of the Conservative Party’s 2021 campaign. “I think any political party would have been alarmed by that statement and would have at the very least been engaged and asked a lot of questions to try to develop some sort of strategy to at least institutionalize the monitoring of that.”
Liberal Party national director Azam Ishmael and former NDP party director Anne McGrath, now principal secretary to Leader Jagmeet Singh, also said they don’t recall ever seeing the document.
The SITE document also noted that there was foreign interference, largely from China, in certain ridings during the 2019 election.
“If there was any sense that there was going to be activity by the People’s Republic of China against Parliament and certain MPs and interference in certain ridings, it would have been useful to know that,” Ms. McGrath said.
Mr. Ishmael said the briefings provided by SITE, which included Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers, were not particularly informative or “actionable.” He characterized the meetings as “cybersecurity 101.”
Another SITE document written later in the campaign explained how China and its proxies were targeting Conservative candidates over the party’s election platform that took an anti-Beijing stand. Party leader Erin O’Toole had called for a foreign-agent registry, tough action against forced labour of Uyghurs in China, a ban on Huawei Technologies gear and the withdrawal of Canada from the Asian Development Bank.
Again, this information was never shared with the three party representatives, the inquiry heard.
“If there is a specific or a potential of specific threat … we would have institutionalized at some level of monitoring of what was going on,” Mr. Soliman said.
Halfway through the election, Mr. Soliman said the party started “getting information on a few targeted ridings where there seemed to be campaigns of misinformation that appeared to be advanced by actors that the local campaigns couldn’t identify.”
He told campaign activists to get back to work, believing that SITE would have warned him if there were serious Chinese state operations against the Conservatives. “If there was something serious that was happening someone would let us know,” he said.
A few days after the election, Mr. Soliman said they gathered as much information as they could about what had happened in a number of ridings. They wrote to SITE that they believed Chinese foreign interference played a role in the defeat of Conservatives in 13 ridings.
On Monday night, Mr. Soliman was shown an October, 2021, SITE document that dismissed the Conservative complaints, claiming the Conservatives were unhappy that officials would not declare “there was organized and covert” foreign interference that had cost them the election.
“Rarely do I get upset,” Mr. Soliman said after reading the document. “At no time did Erin O’Toole or any member of his team try to make a Trumpian assertion that the election was lost to the Conservatives by election interference.”
It was only in 2023 that the Conservatives finally learned that China had interfered in the campaign from top secret and secret documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.
“My principal complaint is that two years after the election, I learned from a news story through The Globe and Mail that information … was inconsistent with what we were told at that time,” Mr. Soliman said. “So yes, was I frustrated? Absolutely.”
The Globe and Mail wrote 17 articles about foreign interference last year, mostly based on debriefings from national-security sources and leaked top secret and secret documents from CSIS. The documents illustrated how an orchestrated Chinese state machine was operating in Canada with two primary aims: to ensure that a minority Liberal government was returned in 2021, and that certain Conservative candidates identified by China were defeated.
The intelligence reports showed that Beijing employed disinformation campaigns and proxies connected to Chinese-Canadian organizations in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia legislature is set to open today for its fall sitting.
The early September return has added to speculation of a possible election call later this fall, but Premier Tim Houston will only say that he’s excited about his government’s legislative agenda.
Houston says the Progressive Conservatives still have “lots to do” on behalf of Nova Scotians, but he wasn’t specific about pending legislation when asked about his priorities on Wednesday.
In June, he cast doubt on whether he will adhere to the fixed provincial election date his party passed into law soon after coming to power, which set the date for July 15, 2025.
The Opposition Liberals and the NDP say they are ready for any scenario and remain focused on their own priorities for the sitting.
Both parties say they will highlight the need to deal with cost of living issues, including the shortage of affordable housing and the lack of access to primary health care.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2024.
In a move that sent shockwaves through British Columbia’s political landscape, B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon announced on Wednesday that his party would suspend its campaign for the upcoming provincial election and throw its support behind John Rustad’s resurgent B.C. Conservatives. This unprecedented decision has left political watchers and analysts scrambling to make sense of the ramifications for the province’s political future.
Kevin Falcon, who took the reins of the B.C. Liberals—now rebranded as B.C. United—in February 2022, delivered the stunning news at a press conference that left many in disbelief. The former cabinet minister, known for his confidence and assertiveness, appeared uncharacteristically somber and introspective as he explained the rationale behind his decision.
Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, observed the stark contrast in Falcon’s demeanor. “This is a man who has always exuded confidence, even cockiness, throughout his political career. But today, he seemed on the brink of tears, visibly struggling with the weight of this decision,” Kurl noted. The emotional toll of Falcon’s announcement was evident, underscoring the gravity of the situation both personally and professionally for the B.C. United leader.
The roots of B.C. United’s collapse can be traced back to two key decisions made by Falcon: the expulsion of John Rustad from the party and the controversial rebranding from the B.C. Liberals to B.C. United. Rustad, who was removed from the party in February 2023 for questioning climate change science, quickly capitalized on his dismissal by revitalizing the dormant B.C. Conservative Party. Since then, Rustad has attracted a growing number of former B.C. United MLAs and candidates to his cause, turning the B.C. Conservatives into a formidable political force.
The decision to rebrand the B.C. Liberals as B.C. United, which was meant to signal a fresh start for the party, has been widely criticized as poorly timed and poorly executed. Bill Bennett, a former Liberal cabinet minister, lamented the lack of public understanding of the new brand. “There was no real effort to rebrand and help the public grasp who B.C. United was. The entire process lacked sufficient resources, which ultimately led to its failure,” Bennett said.
Political scientists have been quick to analyze the implications of Falcon’s decision to suspend B.C. United’s campaign. Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia (UBC), expressed shock at the sudden turn of events. “This was a party that, just moments ago, was preparing to compete in this election. To suddenly wave the white flag and step aside in favor of another party is unprecedented. We haven’t seen anything quite like this before,” Prest remarked.
The move has also raised questions about Falcon’s leadership and the future of B.C. United. Gerald Baier, an associate professor of political science at UBC, suggested that Falcon’s decision to expel Rustad may be viewed as the pivotal moment in his leadership. “If Falcon could go back and change one decision, it would likely be the expulsion of Rustad. That move set off a chain reaction that ultimately led to the party’s collapse,” Baier explained.
With B.C. United stepping aside, the B.C. Conservatives are now positioned to become the main opposition to the ruling B.C. NDP in the upcoming election, scheduled for October 19. However, the transition will not be without its challenges. The Conservatives will need to decide which B.C. United candidates to include on their slate, a process that could leave some candidates and voters in a state of uncertainty.
As the political landscape in British Columbia shifts dramatically, the upcoming election promises to be one of the most closely watched and hotly contested in recent memory. The decision by Falcon to back the B.C. Conservatives has not only upended the election but has also reshaped the future of politics in the province. As the dust settles, all eyes will be on John Rustad and his ability to capitalize on this newfound momentum.
In conclusion, Kevin Falcon’s decision to suspend B.C. United’s campaign and endorse the B.C. Conservatives marks a pivotal moment in British Columbia’s political history. The move has raised numerous questions about the future of B.C. United, the leadership of the B.C. Conservatives, and the upcoming election itself. As the province braces for what promises to be a highly volatile election season, one thing is clear: British Columbia’s political landscape will never be the same.
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s auditor general says his office has found no evidence of a conflict of interest in the handling of provincial grants for the zero-emission vehicle sector, after an accusation by a truck maker earlier this year.
Michael Pickup says in a statement the investigation looked into accounting firm MNP’s handling of Advanced Research and Commercialization grant applications, reviewing “a significant amount of information” from the company, the government and all applicants.
Pickup says the results show no evidence MNP wrote grant applications for clients, influenced the evaluation process to benefit clients or used its administering of the program to “recruit” clients for the company’s other services.
In April, the provincial legislature unanimously directed Pickup’s office to examine allegations by electric-hybrid truck maker Edison Motors that MNP was both administering the grants and offering services to help businesses with applications.
The Office of the Auditor General says the allegations from Edison, which is based in Merritt, B.C., suggested MNP “was offering to write grant applications in exchange for a success fee while also deciding who received grant funding.”
MNP said at the time that the allegations were “false and misleading.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2024.
