Foreign interference: Canada’s elections are hacked every day

Canada’s elections are subject to multiple cyberattacks on a daily basis, and the agency recently revealed that it was not the only target of foreign meddling efforts in the Canadian parliamentary system.

• Read more: [GRANDE ENQUÊTE] Canada was spied on from all sides by foreign powers

Foreign intervention is on many minds in Ottawa right now. In addition to a special committee of parliamentarians examining relations between Canada and the People’s Republic of China, another committee, Practical and Home Affairs, held several meetings on foreign interference during elections.

Called to testify before the committee in November, Director General Stephane Perreault revealed that Elections Canada’s website was subject to cyber attacks “every day” but that there had been no “breach” of its IT infrastructure.

“We have no means of knowing whether they are from abroad or from Canada. I think they are mostly coming from abroad”, said Mr. Perrault testified.

Interruptions

Also, several elements point in the direction of China’s interventions during the last federal elections. The Global News Channel specifically revealed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was informed by Canadian secret services about the covert Chinese funding of 11 candidates. He denied that he had not been informed.

The case of defeated Conservative MP Kenny Chiu in the Steveston-Richmond East riding in British Columbia also raises many questions. Highly critical of the Chinese government, he has been a victim of Beijing’s misguided propaganda among his constituents of Chinese descent, which has been systematically denied by Chinese diplomatic representatives.

For its part, the Canadian government maintains that these potential interference efforts would not have had an impact on the results of the 2015 and 2019 elections.

In mid-December, however, Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie called the efforts “deeply concerning.” “We will never accept foreign interference in our democracy. One point, that’s it,” Minister Joly insisted in a parliamentary panel. He also said that he had raised the matter with his Chinese counterpart at the last G20 in Indonesia.

Isn’t that surprising?

Another allegation of interference: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched an investigation into unofficial Chinese Communist Party “police stations” allegedly harassing immigrants on Canadian soil.

Human rights organization Safeguard Defenders revealed there will be five police stations, including in the Toronto area and Vancouver. The information was also denied by Beijing.

Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China from 2012 to 2016, called on Canada to exercise caution during his testimony before a parliamentary committee. “Chinese interference must be fought at all costs, not only within the Chinese community in Canada, but also in our institutions. […] The Chinese use all kinds of means to create interference. They take advantage of the fact that we are an open society.