David Johnston, Canada’s special rapporteur on foreign interference, is pushing back against claims that his work is biased after confirming that he has enlisted the help of experts with links to the Liberals and NDP.
Since his appointment, Johnston has been accused of being unfit for the job because of his connections to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The leaders of the Conservative and Bloc Québécois parties have both said Trudeau and Johnston are self-declared friends and that their longstanding ties are too close to allow Johnston to judge the prime minister’s actions.
Johnston has said that while he was friends with Pierre Trudeau and skied with the Trudeau family back when Justin Trudeau and his brothers were children, he hasn’t had any meetings, dinners or personal contacts with Trudeau in the past 40 years.
Johnston downplays Trudeau connection, says ’35 years of absence doesn’t make a friendship’
In an exclusive interview with Power and Politics host David Cochrane, Johnston described his relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family. He said they crossed paths when Trudeau became prime minister and he was Governor General and while he was president at two Canadian universities.
But that hasn’t stopped opposition parties from questioning Johnston’s investigation into foreign interference. Even the NDP — which currently has a supply-and-confidence deal with the governing Liberals — put forward a motion in the House calling on Johnston to step aside because of an “appearance of bias.”
In an exclusive interview with CBC News Network’s Power & Politics, the former governor general says any perceptions of bias are based on “allegations that are false.”
“The fact that it’s repeated again and again — if it’s wrong — doesn’t make it true,” Johnston said of his relationship with the current prime minister.
On Tuesday, The Globe and Mail reported that Sheila Block, a lawyer Johnston hired to assist with his mandate, has donated to the Liberal Party in the past.
David Johnston says he doesn’t regret taking on foreign interference assignment
‘When you’re asked to serve your country, you do so,” Johnston says in an exclusive interview with Power and Politics host David Cochrane.
Johnston also told the procedure and House affairs committee on Tuesday that he has received unpaid informal advice from Don Guy, former chief of staff to former Ontario Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty, and Brian Topp, chief of staff to Rachel Notley when she was the NDP premier of Alberta.
Johnston argued their involvement doesn’t compromise his work.
Johnston said “many lawyers in practice” donate to political parties and that in Block’s case, she was supporting some of her former students who became political candidates. He also said Block has donated to former Toronto mayor John Tory, who has past connections to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.
“She has the respect of every lawyer she works with,” Johnston said of Block.
As for Topp and Guy, Johnston said they were two of many who reached out to his office offering communications help following the release of his initial report. He also noted that the communications firm Navigator — which Johnston hired after being appointed to his current role — has a number of employees with connections to the Conservative Party.
In addition to questioning Johnston’s credibility, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet have refused to obtain security clearances to permit them to examine the top secret information that informed Johnston’s first report.
Johnston told Power & Politics host David Cochrane that he doesn’t “completely understand” the opposition leaders’ decision.
Poilievre and Blanchet have said the offer of security clearances is an attempt to silence the opposition. But Johnston said they could speak publicly about their own conclusions regarding the intelligence as long as they didn’t reveal classified information.
“I simply don’t understand that,” Johnston said. “I would like to think they would want to get to know … the classified information and come to their own conclusions and speak freely about it.”
In an exclusive interview with CBC’s David Cochrane, special rapporteur David Johnston says he would think federal Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet ‘would want to get to know the bottom of this … and then come to their own conclusions’ on foreign interference.
Johnston also said that he did not reach out to MP Han Dong as part of his initial investigation into foreign interference.
A story by Global News, citing an unnamed national security source, alleged Dong advised an official at the Chinese consulate in Toronto against releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians the Chinese government was holding at the time.
While Johnston’s report disputed those claims, he said he did not speak to Dong before releasing the report.
“We had a high degree of intelligence, both open and more particularly the classified information, and that permitted us to come to the conclusion that the allegations made about him were not founded. In fact, he was in conversation with the consulate in Toronto of China but was not wittingly being a tool of theirs,” Johnston said.
Johnston says he ‘didn’t reach out’ to MP Han Dong while investigating foreign interference
Special rapporteur David Johnston says he felt that he got the intelligence that permitted him to conclude that Han Dong ‘was not a witting party’ in an alleged foreign interference campaign. Dong stepped down as a member of the Liberal caucus in the wake of allegations that he advised a Chinese diplomat that Beijing should wait to free Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in February 2021.
Since Johnston’s first report was released, Dong has been seeking to rejoin the Liberal caucus after leaving when the Global stories first broke. The MP launched a $15 million lawsuit against Global before Johnston’s report was released.
Johnston’s report criticized the way information is shared between Canada’s intelligence bodies and how it’s shared with decision makers in the federal government.
When asked if the current government is taking the issue of foreign affairs seriously enough, Johnston said he doesn’t believe any government has in recent years.
“Particularly in the last 12 to 15 years, we have not been doing what we should be doing with foreign intelligence,” he said. “We needed a wake-up call.
“We have to be much more effectively armed than we have. We found some very big challenges in our system.”
The former governor general will be holding public hearings over the summer. He said Tuesday those hearings are expected to begin next month.
While he said much of his work will be forward-looking, Johnston added he’ll still review some lingering questions about the cases he addressed in his first report.
“There are stories that simply don’t add up and that requires further review,” he said.
Some foreign interference stories ‘don’t add up,’ Johnston says
Special rapporteur David Johnston concedes that Erin O’Toole’s claim that his campaign was targeted by China in the 2021 election, and the lack of supporting evidence reported by Johnston, calls for closer investigation.
Johnston was referring specifically to the case of former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole. Johnston’s report found evidence that articles circulating on the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat during the 2021 campaign questioned O’Toole’s positions on China, but the articles couldn’t be traced back to a state actor.
Following Johnston’s report, O’Toole said he was briefed by CSIS who told him he indeed was a target of a Chinese government campaign of misinformation and “voter suppression” that covered the last federal election campaign.
Johnston said he would continue to review O’Toole’s case and others as he begins to hold public hearings.
NDP House leader Peter Julian and Liberal MP Greg Fergus, the prime minister’s parliamentary secretary, speak to Power & Politics about their participation in the committee that heard from David Johnston on his investigation into foreign interference.
The New Brunswick Liberal Party has won a majority government, and Susan Holt will become the first woman to lead the province.
Here’s the latest from election night. All times are ADT.
10:15 p.m.
The results of the New Brunswick election are in, and with virtually all of the ballots counted, the Liberals won 31 seats out of 49.
The Progressive Conservatives won 16 seats.
The Green Party won two.
Voter turnout was about 66 per cent.
—
10 p.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt for her party’s victory in the provincial election.
Trudeau says on the X platform he’s looking forward to working with Holt to build more homes, protect the country’s two official languages, and improve health care.
—
9:48 p.m.
During her victory speech tonight in Fredericton, New Brunswick premier-designate Susan Holt thanked all the women who came before her.
Holt will become the first woman to lead the province after her party won a majority government in the New Brunswick election.
The Liberals are elected or leading in 31 of 49 ridings.
—
9:30 p.m.
Blaine Higgs says he will begin a transition to replace him as leader of the Progressive Conservatives.
After being in power for six years, the Tories lost the election to the Liberals.
Higgs, who lost his seat of Quispamsis, says, “My leadership days are over.”
—
9:17 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick since 2016, has lost in the riding of Quispamsis.
Higgs, 70, has been premier of New Brunswick since 2018, and was first elected to the legislature in 2010.
—
8:45 p.m.
When asked about the election results, Progressive Conservative chief of staff Paul D’Astous says that over the last 18 months the party has had to contend with a number of caucus members who disagreed with its policy.
D’Astous says the Tories have also had to own what happened over the last six years, since they came to power in 2018, adding that the voters have spoken.
—
8:39 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that David Coon, leader of the New Brunswick Green Party, has won the riding of Fredericton Lincoln.
Coon, 67, has been leader of the party since 2014, the year he was first elected to the legislature.
—
8:36 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that the New Brunswick Liberal Party has won a majority government in the provincial election.
Party leader Susan Holt will become the first woman premier in the province’s history.
—
8:20 p.m.
Early returns show a number of close races across the province, with the Liberals off to an early lead.
Liberal campaign manager Katie Davey says the results will show whether party leader Susan Holt, a relative newcomer, was able to capture the attention and trust of the people of New Brunswick.
Davey says she believes voters have welcomed Holt and her message, which focused on pocketbook issues, especially health care.
—
8 p.m.
Polls have closed.
Eyes will be on a number of key ridings including Fredericton South-Silverwood, where Liberal Leader Susan Holt is vying for a seat; Saint John Harbour, which has been competitive between the Tories and Liberals in recent elections; and Moncton East, a redrawn Tory-held riding that the Liberals have targeted.
At dissolution, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Greens had three, there was one Independent and there were four vacancies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
FREDERICTON – A look at Susan Holt, premier-designate and leader of the New Brunswick Liberal party.
Born: April 22, 1977.
Early years: Raised in Fredericton, she attended Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and then spent a year in Toronto before moving abroad for three years, spending time in Australia and India.
Education: Earned a bachelor of arts in economics and a bachelor of science in chemistry from Queen’s University.
Family: Lives in Fredericton with her husband, Jon Holt, and three young daughters.
Hobbies: Running, visiting the farmers market in Fredericton with her family every Saturday.
Before politics: CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council, civil servant, business lobbyist, advocate, consultant and executive with an IT service company that trains and employs Indigenous people.
Politics: Worked as an adviser to former Liberal premier Brian Gallant. Won the leadership of the provincial Liberal party in August 2022 and was elected to the legislature in an April 2023 byelection.
Quote: “We don’t take it lightly that you have put your trust in myself and my team, and you have hope for a brighter future. But that hope I know is short-lived and it will be on us to deliver authentically, on the ground, and openly and transparently.” — Susan Holt, in her speech to supporters in Fredericton after the Liberals won a majority government on Oct. 21, 2024.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick voters have elected a Liberal majority government, tossing out the incumbent Progressive Conservatives after six years in power and handing the reins to the first woman ever to lead the province.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt is a relative newcomer to the province’s political scene, having won a byelection last year, eight months after she became the first woman to win the leadership of the party.
The Liberals appeared poised to take 31 of 49 seats to the Conservatives’ 16 and the Greens two.
Holt, 47, led the Liberals to victory after a 33-day campaign, thwarting Blaine Higgs’s bid to secure a third term as Tory premier.
The Liberal win marks a strong repudiation of Higgs’s pronounced shift to more socially conservative policies.
Higgs, meanwhile, lost in his riding of Quispamsis. In a speech to supporters in the riding, he confirmed that he would begin a leadership transition process.
As the Liberals secured their majority, Green Party Leader David Coon thanked his supporters and pledged to continue building the party, but he then turned his sights on the premier. “One thing is for sure,” he told a crowd gathered at Dolan’s Pub in Fredericton, “we know that Blaine Higgs is no longer the premier of this province.”
The election race was largely focused on health care and affordability but was notable for the remarkably dissimilar campaign styles of Holt and Higgs. Holt repeatedly promised to bring a balanced approach to governing, pledging a sharp contrast to Higgs’s “one-man show taking New Brunswick to the far right.”
“We need a government that acts as a partner and not as a dictator from one office in Fredericton,” she said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.
Higgs focused on the high cost of living, promising to lower the provincial harmonized sales tax by two percentage points to 13 per cent — a pledge that will cost the province about $450 million annually.
Holt spent much of the campaign rolling out proposed fixes for a health-care system racked by a doctor shortage, overcrowded emergency rooms and long wait-times. A former business advocate and public servant, she promised to open 30 community health clinics across the province by 2028; remove the provincial sales tax from electricity bills; overhaul mental health services; and impose a three per cent cap on rent increases by 2025.
The 70-year-old Tory leader, a mechanical engineer and former Irving Oil executive, led a low-key campaign, during which he didn’t have any scheduled public events on at least 10 days — and was absent from the second leaders debate on Oct. 9.
Holt missed only two days of campaigning and submitted a 30-page platform with 100 promises, a far heftier document than the Tories’ two-page platform that includes 11 pledges.
When the election was called on Sept. 19, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Green Party had three, there was one Independent and four vacancies. At least 25 seats are needed for a majority.
Higgs was hoping to become the first New Brunswick premier to win three consecutive elections since Liberal Frank McKenna won his third straight majority in 1995. But it was clear from the start that Higgs would have to overcome some big obstacles.
On the first day of the campaign, a national survey showed he had the lowest approval rating of any premier in the country. That same morning, Higgs openly mused about how he was perceived by the public, suggesting people had the wrong idea about who he really is.
“I really wish that people could know me outside of politics,” he said, adding that a sunnier disposition might increase his popularity. “I don’t know whether I’ve got to do comedy hour or I’ve got to smile more.”
Still, Higgs had plenty to boast about, including six consecutive balanced budgets, a significant reduction in the province’s debt, income tax cuts and a booming population.
Higgs’s party was elected to govern in 2018, when the Tories formed the province’s first minority government in almost 100 years. In 2020, he called a snap election — marking the first province to go to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic — and won a slim majority.
Since then, 14 Tory caucus members have stepped down after clashing with the premier, some of them citing what they described as an authoritarian leadership style and a focus on conservative policies that represented a hard shift to the right.
A caucus revolt erupted last year after Higgs announced changes to the gender identity policy in schools. When several Tory lawmakers voted for an external review of the change, Higgs dropped dissenters from cabinet. A bid by some party members to trigger a leadership review went nowhere.
Higgs has also said a Tory government would reject all new applications for supervised drug-consumption sites, renew a legal challenge against the federal carbon pricing scheme and force people into drug treatment if authorities deem they “pose a threat to themselves or others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
