CSIS warned Prime Minister's Office in 2023 that China 'clandestinely and deceptively' interfered in elections

Canada's spy agency believes the Chinese government «clandestinely and deceptively» interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections — and a top secret briefing note discussed at the Foreign Interference Commission shows the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told the Prime Minister's Office about it in February 2023.

The document, described by one lawyer appearing before the commission's public inquiry as «remarkable,» was tabled on Monday.

It is a briefing for the Prime Minister's Office drafted following the publication of stories by The Globe and Mail and Global News that contained intelligence leaks about foreign interference by the People's Republic of China (PRC).

«We know the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections. In both cases, [foreign interference… was] pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either 'pro-PRC' or 'neutral' on issues of interest to the PRC government,» the document says under the subhead «Assertions in Media Reporting.»

The document alleges that at least 11 candidates and 13 staff members were implicated in foreign interference by the Chinese government, and that multiple political parties were involved.

Another CSIS document, tabled earlier in the inquiry, refers to seven Liberal candidates and four from the Conservative Party of Canada.

«We also observed online and media activities aimed at discouraging Canadians, particularly of Chinese heritage, from supporting the Conservative Party, leader Erin O'Toole, and particularly Steveston-Richmond East Candidate Kenny Chiu,» says the briefing note.

«In 2021, the PRC FI activities were almost certainly motivated by a perception that the Conservative Party