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A top-secret intelligence report drafted a week before Canada\u2019s 2021 general election warned about ongoing attempts by the Chinese government to meddle in specific races, saying that Beijing had \u201cidentified Canadian politicians considered\u2019\u2019 to be opponents of China.<\/p>\n
Those politicians had become the targets of a shadowy media campaign, with suspected links to the Chinese government, that spread \u201cfalse narratives\u201d about them and encouraged Canadians to vote against them.<\/p>\n
The intelligence about possible interference in Canada\u2019s last general election was included in documents released on Wednesday at a public hearing<\/a> before a commission investigating foreign interference. Their release followed <\/span>Canadian news reports over the past year outlining the Chinese government\u2019s actions and raised concerns about the vulnerability of Canada\u2019s democratic institutions.<\/p>\n Canadian politicians believed to have been targeted by Beijing also testified at the hearing on Wednesday, saying that they had drawn the ire of the Chinese government by criticizing its record on human rights, among other issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Kenny Chiu, a former member of Parliament<\/a> from the Vancouver area whose 2021 loss has been at the heart of investigations into Chinese election interference, <\/span>said he was dismayed to learn Wednesday that intelligence officials had been aware of China\u2019s actions at the time of the election but had not told him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like I was drowning and they were watching,\u2019\u2019 said Mr. Chiu, a Conservative Party member who was a fierce critic of Beijing\u2019s security crackdown in Hong Kong. He was also the chief proponent of a bill to create a registry of foreign agents in Canada to try to curb foreign interference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The public hearings in Ottawa are part of federal inquiry into interference in Canada\u2019s political system by China and other nations, especially the past two general elections. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to call the inquiry in September after facing increasing criticism in the news media and by opposition politicians.<\/p>\n The Chinese Embassy in Canada has denied interfering in the elections of Canada or any other country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Chinese government is believed to have backed candidates<\/a> considered friendly to Beijing, most of whom belonged to Mr. Trudeau\u2019s Liberal Party, according to the Canadian news media.<\/p>\n By contrast, the Chinese government is believed to have opposed candidates of the Conservative Party, which took a harder line on human rights and a host of other issues related to China. The intelligence report drafted a week before the 2021 election said that the media campaign aimed \u201cto discourage voters from voting for the Conservative Party.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n