麻豆影视

Skip to main content

RCMP still probing alleged meddling in federal elections, but offers few details

Share
OTTAWA -

RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says the police force has several open investigations into possible foreign interference in the last two general elections - probes that began only after the votes were counted.

Duheme declined to elaborate Thursday on the number or nature of the probes, citing the integrity of the investigations, privacy concerns and public safety.

鈥淲e don't comment on ongoing investigations,鈥 Duheme said after appearing at a federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference.

The hearings are part of the inquiry's examination of possible meddling by China, India, Russia and others in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Deputy RCMP commissioner Mark Flynn provided few other details about the ongoing probes, but indicated to reporters that some of the leads emerged through individuals 鈥渟peaking about their own experiences very publicly,鈥 including in the House of Commons.

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, Conservative MP Michael Chong and New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan have all been identified publicly as possible targets of foreign interference by China.

In a classified February interview with the inquiry, Duheme said the RCMP did not open any foreign interference-related criminal investigations during the last two general elections.

A public summary of the interview, tabled Thursday at the inquiry, reveals that Duheme also said none of the force's partners referred intelligence to the Mounties that would have warranted such criminal investigations.

However, after the 2021 general election, the Mounties did begin investigations, including one prompted by Chong's public statement about being a target of meddling.

Flynn said Thursday that while the force's investigation of that incident 鈥渉as concluded, the broad understanding of the problem and our efforts to combat the broad public safety threat that this represents is ongoing.鈥

Added Duheme: 鈥淚f there's information that comes up that says that we should be reopening a file, we reopen it and continue the investigation.鈥

A former deputy minister of foreign affairs told the inquiry in a classified interview that Canada's security and intelligence community has been closely monitoring attempted meddling by China.

But Marta Morgan said such activity did not reach the threshold for taking diplomatic measures against Chinese officials in relation to the 2019 and 2021 general elections.

Morgan, who was deputy minister from May 2019 until October 2022, made the comments in a February interview with the inquiry, according to a newly tabled public summary.

The summary says during the electoral writ periods, Global Affairs Canada did not consider diplomatic measures against China, as none of the intelligence triggered specific concerns.

Individual political candidates have told the inquiry they were angry to learn only after both election campaigns that officials had been monitoring activity suspected of being linked to foreign states.

Intelligence leaders insist both the 2019 and 2021 elections were conducted freely and fairly, but the Conservatives say more attention should have been paid to concerning activity detected within specific ridings.

The Communications Security Establishment, which monitors foreign signals intelligence, was alert to potential threats during both of the last two elections, said Dan Rogers, a former senior official with the agency.

The most significant piece of intelligence gathered during that period emerged after the 2021 election and involved allegations about the potential distribution of funds, he testified Thursday.

Rogers declined to share any details because of national security concerns. The information was passed on to Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP, but he doesn't know what became of it after that.

He told the commission the CSE didn't detect any state-backed disinformation campaigns from Russia during the last two elections.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2024.

Correction

This is a corrected story. An earlier version erroneously identified Dan Rogers, currently deputy national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister, as the deputy head of the Communications Security Establishment.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.

A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province鈥檚 police watchdog.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced voters in Cloverdale鈥擫angley City will pick their next member of Parliament on Dec. 16.

Local Spotlight

For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.

A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.

Stay Connected