Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a public inquiry he found it “very improbable” the Chinese government would prefer his Liberal Party to win recent elections, given the high tensions between the two countries.
Trudeau was testifying at an inquiry into foreign meddling in Canadian elections, particularly by China. The inquiry was prompted by a series of media leaks last year that cited intelligence memos alleging China was orchestrating efforts to get certain candidates elected in Canada.
One media story alleged a Chinese diplomat boasted he had helped ensure Trudeau’s Liberal Party won a minority government in parliament, and that such an outcome was best for China.
But Trudeau rejected the idea China successfully meddled, saying every briefing he’s received from his intelligence and security officials indicates the elections “held in their integrity” and “were decided by Canadians.”
He also disputed the claim China favored his party, pointing out both the 2019 and 2021 elections took place during “significant tensions” between Canada and China. Two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, had been detained by China in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request.
Trudeau said Canada was “extremely active” in pushing back on China during this khbrknews, including through a global effort for democracies to have a coordinated policy against arbitrary detentions.
He said while individual diplomats “may well have expressed a preference” in terms of who should govern Canada, “it just would seem very improbable that that the Chinese government itself would have a preference in the election,” Trudeau said.
More broadly, he also defended his government’s response to the foreign interference threat, and said it was difficult to respond to the allegations being aired in the media based on leaked intelligence.
Read More: China Is Using AI to Sow…
