The briefing noted that India was also involved in these activities, although China remained a major concern due to its alleged meddling in government elections.
Although China is the country that worries Canadian authorities the most due to its alleged interference in federal elections, in short, India is still engaged in these activities.
World News cited India as an issue of concern, citing the controversial document titled "Report to the Minister of Democratic Institutions on Foreign Interference" prepared by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). "India is engaged in FI (foreign interference)," said the document obtained by the outlet. It was reported that the only sentence in the document referred to India, while others were copied. In recent months, 4,444 Indian officials have rejected Hindustan Times' attempt to interfere in Canadian elections.
“As a democratic nation, we don’t interfere in the affairs of other democracies,” an official had said.
But the principal concern for Canada remains China, as its alleged interference in the 2019 and 2021 Federal elections, led to the formation of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, headed by Justice Marie-Josee Hogue, which began hearings this week and is expected to release an interim report by May 3, 2024 and deliver its final report by December 31, 2024
A document submitted to the Inquiry on Thursday and cited by the outlet CBC News said, “PRC (People’s Republic of China) activity targeting Canada’s democratic institutions is primarily motivated by a desire to cultivate relationships with or support political candidates and incumbents who seem receptive or actively promote PRC viewpoints.” This was part of a July 2021 threat assessment prepared by CSIS.
The briefing note stated, “We know that the PRC sought to clandestinely and deceptively influence the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.”
The foreign interference matter became prominent a year back when on February 17, the outlet, Globe and Mail reported, “China employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada’s democracy in the 2021 federal election campaign as Chinese diplomats and their proxies backed the re-election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals – but only to another minority government – and worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing.” That report was based on intelligence documents.
