Election interference worse than government admits, rights coalition says

Foreign interference in Canada’s past two federal elections was likely worse than the government has acknowledged and may have swayed results in some ridings, says a coalition of diaspora groups.

In its closing submission to the foreign interference inquiry, the Human Rights Coalition said flaws in the system for public complaints meant election meddling was underreported.

“As such, the bodies that determine the extent to which the integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections have been comprised likely did not have the full picture of the extent of foreign interference at the time.”

While it may not have changed the nationwide results, tampering by overseas governments did have an impact at the electoral district level, the coalition of eight diaspora groups argued.

“We submit that the commissioner cannot take the positions of government bodies that foreign interference did not happen to an extent that threatened the integrity of the elections, at face value.”

The coalition participated in the inquiry on behalf of eight advocacy groups representing Chinese and other diasporas, which they said “bear the brunt” of foreign interference.

Its closing submissions were among 18 filed to Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue after public hearings ended last week.

The government has insisted that while China, and to a lesser extent India and Pakistan, tried to sway the elections, those actions did not ultimately swing election results in the Liberals’ favour.

Both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and a panel of five senior public servants tasked found that covert operations did not threaten the integrity of the votes.

“They failed,” the government said in its own closing submission. “Despite having observed several foreign