The Prime Minister of Canada speaks of the possible involvement of some members of the opposition Conservative Party in cases of “foreign interference”, Justin Trudeau.
At the same time, he stressed that this party does not treat the matter with due seriousness.
The statements were made to an independent commission investigating foreign interference in Canadian politics. Polls show the Conservatives would comfortably beat Trudeau’s Liberals in the next general election, scheduled for late October 2025.
In this research it was already mentioned that China and other countries tried to interfere in Canadian politics. Beijing categorically denies this.
“I have the names of some deputies”
“I have the names of several MPs, former MPs and/or candidates from the Conservative party (…) who are involved or at high risk or for whom there is clear information about (their involvement in) foreign interference,” said Trudeau.
A little later, however, he made a partial correction, saying that the information about the conservatives’ action was “poor or incomplete or just allegations from a single source”. He did not give further details.
Conservative leader Pierre Poillievre avoided requesting security clearance, which is mandatory for anyone who wants to read all the information revealed by the investigation. He claimed this would prevent him from commenting on the process.
Trudeau said he asked the Canadian Information Security Agency to warn Poilievre about Conservative members who could be “vulnerable” to foreign influence. The conservative leader’s decision not to request security clearance to access confidential information “was incomprehensible to me and made no sense”, he added.
Poilievre’s representatives were not available for comment.
Expulsion of six Indian diplomats
Canada on Monday expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader and alleging that New Delhi is trying to target Indian dissidents living in Canada. India responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats.
Sources: AMPE, Reuters