Elections Watchdog Finds Insufficient Evidence to Probe Beijing Interference in Tory MP’s Defeat

The federal elections regulator says it looked into alleged Beijing interference in the 2021 election but found insufficient evidence to open a formal investigation.
The Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections (OCCE) review focused on an alleged China-linked disinformation campaign in a British Columbia riding where former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu was defeated.
“Although the information received during this review leads to suspect that attempts to influence the Chinese Canadian diaspora existed, at no time did investigators obtain sufficient evidence to support any of the elements of undue foreign influence or other contraventions as defined by the Act,” investigators wrote in the review.
As part of its review, OCCE investigators spoke with Chinese-Canadian residents in the Richmond-Steveston riding and nearby areas. The report said investigators learned that an extensive network of Chinese-Canadian associations, businesses, and media in the Greater Vancouver Area provided a lifestyle “which mirrors in many ways that of China” and that the diaspora has extensive commercial, social, and familial relations with China.
“Some interviewees reported that the above has created aspects of a parallel society involving many Chinese Canadians in the lower mainland area, which includes concerted support, direction and control by individuals from or involved with China’s Vancouver consulate and the United Front Work Department (UFWD) in China,” investigators wrote.
The watchdog also reported that members of three Chinese-Canadian associations, as well as others, allegedly “used their positions to influence the choice of Chinese Canadian electors” during the 2021 election “in a direction favourable to the interests of China.”
Investigators said these influence efforts were motivated by the Conservative Party’s election platform and Chiu’s actions and statements, which were used to claim that both the platform and Chiu were “anti-China and were encouraging anti-Chinese discrimination and racism.”
“These messages were amplified through repeated posts in social media, chat groups, and Chinese-language online, print, and radio media throughout the Greater Vancouver Area,” OCCE stated.
It noted that the campaign was prefaced by statements from China’s Ambassador to Canada and the Vancouver Consul General, as well as articles published or broadcast in Beijing-controlled Chinese Canadian media entities.
“According to Chinese Canadian interview subjects, this invoked a widespread fear amongst electors, described as a fear of retributive measures from Chinese authorities should a [Conservative] government be elected,” the review stated.
This included the possibility that Chinese authorities could interfere with travel to and from China, as well as measures being taken against family members or business interests in China, the review said.
“Several Chinese Canadian interview subjects were of the view that Chinese authorities could exercise such retributive measures, and that this fear was most acute with Chinese Canadian electors from mainland China,” investigators wrote. They also cited an unnamed interviewee, who said “everybody understands” the pressure to say only positive things about China.
The public inquiry into foreign interference has resumed its hearings on allegations of election interference from Beijing and other foreign entities. The hearings will continue until Oct. 16.