Online bot campaign backing Pierre Poilievre prompts call for probe by election commissioner

The NDP has called on the elections commissioner to find out what's behind an army of social media bots supporting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

New Democrats said the social media platform X was inundated with posts after Poilievre's tour of Northern Ontario in July.

These posts claimed to be from people who attended a Poilievre event in Kirkland Lake, Ont. They were actually generated by accounts in Russia, France and other places, and many of them have similar messaging.

Charlie Angus, one of the NDP's MPs from the region, suggested the Conservatives were behind the operation and that it had misfired. At least one account said they had to «brave the cold to attend» the rally in Kirkland Lake.

«This was done so badly where these bots were claiming they had to go through the cold in Northern Ontario at a time of a huge heat wave,» Angus said. «I think it's made them look ridiculous.»

The Conservatives denied any role in the bot campaign.

«It is unsurprising that the NDP is once again spreading baseless conspiracy theories and that the CBC is choosing to amplify it,» said Sarah Fischer, communications director for the Conservative Party of Canada.

«The CPC does not pay for bots and has no idea who is behind these accounts. We are seeking the support of actual Canadians, as witnessed by large in-person turnouts at our events.»

In his letter to the elections commissioner, Angus called on the office to ensure that neither the Conservative Party of Canada nor the local electoral district paid for what could qualify under the law as third-party advertising.

The letter says the NDP wants the commissioner to ensure that whoever created the posts resided in Canada and complied with the advertising rules under the Canada Elections