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    • Liberals 'dragging their feet' on foreign interference, says defeated MP named as Chinese election target

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    A Conservative politician who says he was targeted by Chinese efforts to defeat Conservatives during the 2021 federal campaign is accusing the Liberal government of "dragging their feet" and is calling for more than "talking points" when it comes to addressing foreign interference.

    "The government doesn't seem to have the urgency and understanding of how pressing the matter is," said former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, in an interview on CTV News Channel's Power Play with Vassy Kapelos.

    Citing recent examples beyond election meddling such as the recent Chinese spy balloon and installation of so-called Chinese police stations, Chiu accused the Liberals of doing little more than vowing studies.

    "This government doesn't seem to be willing to take any substantial solid action," he said.

    Last week, the Globe and Mail reported that China used a “†to sway Canada’s 2021 general election results.

    The newspaper referenced CSIS documents it had viewed, and reported China worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered unfriendly to Beijing while attempting to get the Liberals re-elected specifically to a minority government. 

    Chiu's name was mentioned specifically in the article, with an unnamed source telling the Globe that he was targeted in part for his retaliation for his parliamentary push to see Canada create a foreign agent registry.

    CTV News has not independently verified the Globe report, but this week it prompted a parliamentary committee to expand its study into foreign election interference in the last two federal elections, with opposition MPs voicing concern about the Liberal government's transparency surrounding potential foreign meddling.

    In a separate panel on Wednesday's show, former CSIS director Ward Elcock and former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques both said China's interference in Canadian affairs has increased significantly since their time in government. Elcock led CSIS from 1994 to 2004, and Saint-Jacques was the ambassador between 2012 and 2016.

    "When I was ambassador, I knew that they were trying to influence some politicians… mostly at the provincial and federal level, but in fact what we learn in those most recent articles is a step much further, and I find this very worrying," said Saint-Jacques.

    'VERY SUBTLE AND YET VERY COMPLEX': CHIU

    In the interview, Chiu said that his advocacy for a registry was portrayed as "anti-Chinese" and related personal attacks were circulated with his constituents and on Chinese social media, through WeChat.

    Chiu described the disinformation campaign he faced as "very subtle and yet very complex."

    "It is very difficult to detect, and also very difficult to counter," he said, speaking about what he says was a "network of disinformation" aimed at undermining Conservative MPs as well as then-leader Erin O'Toole. 

    Elected in 2019 to represent the British Columbia riding of Steveston-Richmond East, Chiu was defeated by Liberal Parm Bains, who secured 42.5 per cent of the vote to Chiu's 33.5 per cent.

    He said he has spoken to CSIS about his experience, after they approached him to collect information. During the 2021 election he did pass along information that his campaign staff and volunteers had collected.

    In a statement to CTV News provided prior to Chiu's interview, CSIS spokesperson Brandon Champagne said that the federal intelligence agency takes any allegations of foreign interference in Canada's democracy "very seriously" and uses its powers to investigate and reduce these threats.

    Champagne noted that CSIS works with many stakeholders including elected officials to raise awareness about "covert and deceptive activities" conducted by China and the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

    "Although Canada's electoral system is strong, foreign interference can erode trust and threaten the integrity of our democratic institutions, political system, fundamental rights and freedoms, and ultimately, our sovereignty," he said, pointing to a series of reports and warnings it has issued in recent years about the "serious threat" posed to the security of Canada by foreign interference.

    On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced questions about the limited amount of information shared publicly about the work done by the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force set up by the Liberals to monitor federal election threats during the 2019 and 2021 campaigns.

    The prime minister said Canadians should be reassured that the non-partisan panel of high-ranking public servants determined that the integrity of these elections held, and the alleged meddling did not impact the outcome.

    "This doesn't mean there hasn't been interference. Of course, we have talked openly for many, many years about the real threat of interference and attempts [at] interference that countries like China continually do," he said.

    Trudeau also said that this should not be a partisan issue, nor should any party be trying to "get partisan advantage out of undermining people's confidence in our institutions."

    "Canadians can and should have trust and confidence in their institutions regardless of how they feel about whichever political party happens to be in power," said the prime minister.

    With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk and Caroline O'Neill

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