Canada roiled by leaked intelligence reports of Chinese election ‘meddling’

A flurry of leaked intelligence reports has reignited allegations that China interfered in Canada's recent federal elections, kicking off a fierce debate over possible responses to Beijing's meddling.

But the leaks also run the risk of harming Canada's reputation among its allies, experts warn, as the country's spy agency struggles to respond to mounting public concern.

Opposition leaders have pushed the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, for a public inquiry into how China attempted to sway the result of two federal elections in its favour.

On Monday evening, Trudeau announced he would appoint a special rapporteur to investigate foreign interference allegations, as well as the creation of a foreign agent registry.

"We believe deeply in the values of freedom, openness, and dialogue. These values are not universally shared by every government around the world," Trudeau said. "Indeed, I don't know if in our lifetime, we've seen democracy in a more precarious place. Many state actors and non-state actors want to foster instability here and elsewhere, to advance their own interests."

Trudeau cited a recent report that found neither China nor any other nation was able to successfully interfere in Canada's elections.

"We will always stand firm when it comes to defending our national security," he said.

Members of an independent panel, set up to monitor possible threats to elections, recently told lawmakers that the meddling attempts by China and other nations did not threaten Canada's ability to have a free and fair election in 2021.

But concerns over China's actions in Canada have grown in recent months, following reports of illegal "police stations" operating in major cities.

The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, said the most recent allegations of Chinese attempts to subvert federal elections demanded an outside review, suggesting ahead of the prime minister' announcement that Trudeau would just try to "sweep this under the rug" and keep the process secretive.

The New Democratic party - which previously pledged to support the governing Liberals on votes of confidence until 2025 - joined the calls, warning it could tie future support for the government to a public inquiry.

The main source of revelations has been leaked documents from CSIS, Canada's main intelligence agency. Both the Globe and Mail and Global News have cited the documents in their reporting on Chinese attempts to tamper with the federal election.

"I'm astonished by the leaks of CSIS material," said Jessica Davis, a former intelligence analyst for the Canadian government and head of Insight Threat Intelligence. Davis cautioned that it was unclear if the documents shared with media outlets were part of a finished intelligence assessment or relied on a single source. She also said it was unclear if the leaks were coming from within the spy agency or from a source at another intelligence division.

Davis said that the leaks appeared to have been selective, largely highlighting how the Liberals themselves benefited from Chinese interference.

The Royal Canadian Mounted police confirmed on Monday it had launched an investigation into the leaks, which officials previously said breached national security laws.

But senior security and intelligence officials' reluctance to comment on any of the highly sensitive information has done little to tamp down widespread speculation about the extent of the meddling.

A poll released this week by the polling firm Angus Reid Institute found that two-thirds of Canadians believe the Chinese government attempted to interfere in the past two federal elections.

In addition to shaping public opinion, the leaks also run the risk of undermining Canada's credibility among its allies - a reputation already damaged after a top intelligence official was arrested for stealing covert information.

"For our allies, it is completely unacceptable to have sensitive documents shared like this," said Davis. "These sorts of leaks will have them asking whether or not we can be trusted to protect the super-sensitive information that they're sharing with us."

Davis also cautioned that the country's intelligence agencies appear to have been caught flat-footed by the leaks and have failed to be open and honest with the public about attempts to interfere in Canada's election.

"Our security agencies need to be doing a much better job of communicating with Canadians. If they don't, Canadians will begin losing confidence in them - and possibly in our elections and democracy."