CSIS saw ‘low-level’ Chinese meddling in 2019 election, inquiry hears

The former minister of democratic institutions says she was told after the October 2019 federal election that Canada’s spy agency had seen low-level foreign interference activities by China.

Karina Gould, who held the portfolio from early 2017 to November 2019, said in a classified interview last month that the activities were similar to what had been seen in the past and did not compromise the election.

A public summary of Gould’s interview was disclosed Wednesday at a federal inquiry into foreign meddling in the 2019 and 2021 elections, where she testified in an open session.

Gould, now government House leader in the Commons, is on parental leave.

As democratic institutions minister, she oversaw the design of a process to protect Canada’s general elections from foreign meddling.

Under a federal protocol, national security officials would inform a special panel of five senior bureaucrats of an interference attempt during an election period.

There would be a public announcement if the panel determined that an incident — or an accumulation of incidents — threatened Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election.

There was no such announcement concerning either the 2019 or 2021 elections. In both ballots, the Liberals were returned to government with minority mandates while the Conservatives formed the official Opposition.

Allegations of foreign interference in these elections — suggestions fueled by anonymous leaks to the media — led to a chorus of calls for a public inquiry.

The inquiry has already heard that China and other state actors attempted to interfere, but there has been little evidence so far to indicate whether they were successful.

Gould told the inquiry Wednesday that if Canadians are to be informed “that a foreign