The federal government’s learnings following the Hogue report will be put to the test on June 24, the day of the by-election in the riding of Toronto–St-Pauls.
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc announced Tuesday that additional measures will be introduced to “protect” the election against any potential attempt at interference.
The Commission on Foreign Interference confirmed earlier this month that foreign interference activities did take place during the 2019 and 2021 general elections. The acts, however, had no impact on the election of the Liberal Party of Canada, concluded Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue.
A working group composed of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Global Affairs Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will notably carry out increased surveillance in this riding and produce reports on detected attempts.
A classified report will also be provided to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other ministers.
“We will continue to take action to protect Canadians from foreign interference and ensure that Canadian democracy remains one of the strongest in the world,” Minister LeBlanc said Tuesday.
The seat in this Liberal stronghold was vacated by long-time Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Carolyn Bennett. She announced last year that she was leaving her post after 27 years in politics.
Similar measures were first announced last year by then-federal Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino, following revelations of foreign interference activities.
The government will have to launch two other partial elections in the coming months.
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