Canada says China and India may seek to meddle in election

OTTAWA – China and India are likely to try to interfere in the Canadian general election on April 28, while Russia and Pakistan have the potential to do so, the country’s spy service said on March 24.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) made its comments at a time when Ottawa’s relations with both India and China are chilly. Beijing and New Delhi have denied previous allegations of interference.

Canada was slow in responding to efforts by China and India to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 elections, but their outcomes were unaffected by the meddling, an official probe said in a final report released in January.

Ms Vanessa Lloyd, deputy director of operations at CSIS, told a press conference that hostile state actors were increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to meddle in elections.

“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is highly likely to use AI enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada’s democratic process in this current election,” she said.

Earlier in March, Beijing announced tariffs on more than US$2.6 billion (S$3.48 billion) worth of Canadian agricultural and food products, retaliating against levies Ottawa slapped on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminium products in 2024.

Canada said last week that China had executed four Canadian citizens on drug smuggling charges, and it strongly condemned Beijing’s use of the death penalty.

When asked for a response to the CSIS comments at a regular news briefing on March 25, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said China had always adhered to the principle of not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and had “never had any interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs”.

Canada in 2024 expelled six Indian diplomats – including the head of mission – over allegations they were involved in a plot against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes,” Ms Lloyd said.

The Chinese and Indian diplomatic missions in Ottawa were not immediately available for comment.

Russia and Pakistan could potentially conduct foreign interference activities against Canada, Ms Lloyd added.

“It’s often very difficult to establish a direct link between foreign interference activities and election results... Nevertheless, threat activities can erode public trust in the integrity of Canada’s democratic processes and institutions,” she said. REUTERS