(Vancouver) B.C. Premier David Eby said he was “very disturbed” by allegations of Chinese interference in Vancouver’s municipal elections last year and demanded a briefing to Canada’s intelligence agency.
Mr. Eby assured that Canadians have the right to a “thorough and independent investigation” into the allegations reported in the newspaper Globe and Mailthis week, that the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver interfered in the municipal elections by using diaspora community groups and grooming some candidates.
The prime minister claims he has requested a “full brief” from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), but has not yet received it.
The newspaper text cites CSIS documents, but Mr. Eby said he was unable to comment on their credibility.
The article prompted Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim on Thursday to point out that he was disgusted by her “innuendo,” and that he would not be targeted by the allegations if he was white.
David Eby said the majority of the tools to fight international interference were in the hands of the federal government, but he wanted to know if British Columbia could “fill in the gaps” by any means at its disposal. He added that Elections BC has already presented recommendations to combat misinformation.
“We are always looking for ways to ensure that our elections are free and fair,” he told a news conference in Prince Rupert.
This week’s news report said CSIS documents did not name the consulate’s favorite candidates for mayor and council, but wanted Kennedy Stewart to lose.
Ken Sim, Vancouver’s first Chinese-Canadian mayor, defeated Mr. Stewart by more than 36,000 votes.
The angry Chinese consulate
The Chinese consulate in Vancouver issued a statement late Thursday expressing its “strong displeasure” with Canadian media and politicians for “defaming and discrediting” the diplomatic mission and its staff.
He called the interference allegations “completely baseless” and said Canada and the United States had instead interfered in China’s internal affairs.
“Even some Canadian municipal officials are undermining China’s territory and sovereign integrity through the Taiwan and Hong Kong issues,” said the statement posted on the consulate’s website.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the impact of the allegations on Ken Sim, saying “little bits of unsubstantiated and unverified information” had been amplified.
Trudeau said Friday that while threats of foreign interference should be taken seriously, Canadians should also be “very, very careful” about such talk, which could undermine the foundations of democratic institutions.
“The impact on individuals who choose to step forward and serve their communities, like Ken Sim – attacked by allegations that are incomplete and that he cannot really answer – is in a way a highlight of the sensitivity of these issues and how they need to be taken seriously,” he said in Guelph, Ont.
“Loss of confidence” in Trudeau
Visiting Vancouver, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday the latest report indicated a loss of confidence by the Canadian intelligence community in Trudeau and his ability to deal with possible foreign interference.
“There is an open revolt against the prime minister,” he said of the CSIS leaks. I think our intelligence community is very concerned about what the Prime Minister is covering up and keeping secret. He puts his own partisan interest before our national interest.”
Mr. Poilievre also said that Canada’s exclusion from alliances such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States, indicated that Justin Trudeau had also lost the confidence of its traditional allies.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, senior researcher at the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Science, Society and Politics, explained that there are several reasons why a foreign government might want to influence municipal politics.
Mme McCuaig-Johnston, an outspoken critic of Beijing, said that while city governments do not dictate foreign policy, they are key to creating formal sister-city relations.
These sister city agreements often involve programs that facilitate cultural and commercial ties between cities, which would then lead to possible “preferential commercial and trade relations”. There is also the possibility of currying favor with a municipal politician, who will then move on to other levels of government, Ms.me McCuaig-Johnston.
Hugh Stephens, a senior fellow at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, said Chinese officials may have been interested in Vancouver’s election because Kennedy Stewart was considering a “friendship pact” with the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung in 2021.
Chinese diplomats are “sensitive to any level of government that might engage with Taiwan”, Mr Stephens said, adding that Beijing views the self-governing island as a “renegade province”.
He said allegations of foreign interference could create a “grossly unfair” narrative for successful and unsuccessful candidates, although the winners bear the brunt of suspicion.
“It undermines their credibility, even if they have nothing to do with the activities of the consulate, and the interference of the consulate did not change the result,” he argued.