Canada spies found China 'clandestinely and deceptively' interfered in last two elections

Canada's domestic spy agency has concluded that China interfered in the last two elections, based on the firmest evidence so far of suspected Chinese meddling in Canadian politics.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party won both the elections, held in 2019 and 2021. Under pressure from opposition legislators unhappy about media reports on China's possible role, Trudeau set up a commission into foreign interference.

The commission was shown a slide on Monday containing an extract of a February 2023 briefing from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS.

"We know that the PRC (Peoples' Republic of China) clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 elections," it said.

"In both cases, these FI (foreign interference) activities were pragmatic in nature and focused primarily on supporting those viewed to be either 'pro-PRC' or 'neutral' on issues of interest to the PRC government."

The existence of the assessment had previously been reported by Global News. China denies it interferes in Canadian politics.

Erin O'Toole, who led the Conservatives during the 2021 campaign, estimated Chinese interference cost his party up to nine seats but added it had not changed the course of the election.

"State actors are able to conduct foreign interference successfully in Canada because there are few legal or political consequences. FI is therefore low-risk and high-reward," said the CSIS assessment.

Intelligence analysts and the Conservatives say Trudeau's government has not done enough to combat Chinese interference. Trudeau is due to testify to the commission on Wednesday.

The Conservatives, who generally take a harder line on China than the Liberals, campaigned in 2021 on a platform that condemned