New Delhi: Canadian opposition leader and Conservative Party chief Pierre Poilievre has challenged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to release the names of his party colleagues who Trudeau claimed were involved in foreign interference in Canadian politics.
Trudeau made the comments Wednesday before an independent commission probing the role of foreign actors in the country’s federal elections.
Polievre has accused the PM of fabricating the charges to divert attention from internal party struggles, and said Trudeau has failed to prevent foreign actions from impacting elections. The opposition leader has repeatedly claimed this helped Trudeau win two polls.
In a statement, Poilievre said: “He is lying. He is lying to distract from a Liberal caucus revolt against his leadership and revelations he knowingly allowed Beijing to interfere and help him win two elections.”
Poilievre’s comments came just hours after Trudeau testified before the Foreign Interference Commission, claiming he had names of several Conservative politicians—parliamentarians, former MPs, and candidates—who were involved in interference during polls.
“Because I am prime minister and privy to all this information, I have the names of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians, and/or candidates in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged or at high risk of engaging in foreign interference,” Trudeau stated.
The Liberal Party chief also criticised his opponent for opting to not receive classified briefings on foreign interference, saying, “The decision by the leader of the Conservative Party to not get those classified briefings means that nobody in his party, not him, and nobody in a position of power knows the names of these individuals and can take appropriate action.”
Poilievre has declined to read the intelligence uncovered by the probe, on the grounds that this would prevent him from commenting on the public proceedings.
Trudeau’s comments were made before an independent commission investigating foreign interference in Canadian politics.
In these hearings that started on 16 September, Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS) officials also disclosed that a former parliamentarian was suspected of working to influence parliamentary decisions on behalf of a foreign government, but no specific names were made public.
‘Trudeau govt sat on evidence’
Responding to the allegations made by Trudeau, Poilievre said he was briefed by CSIS Tuesday about foreign interference from India, but was not informed of any involvement by Conservative MPs. “At no time has the government told me or my Chief of Staff of any current or former Conservative parliamentarian or candidate knowingly participating in foreign interference,” Poilievre shared in a public statement.
“If Justin Trudeau has evidence to the contrary, he should share it with the public. Now that he has blurted it out in general terms at a commission of inquiry, he should release the facts. But he won’t—because he is making it up,” Poilievre added.
Release the names. pic.twitter.com/lbuBZtpC6f
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) October 16, 2024
He also accused the Liberal government of ignoring intelligence warnings, noting that they “sat on a CSIS surveillance warrant application for a Liberal power-broker for 54 days”, alleging that “Trudeau’s party… willingly allowed the PRC consulate” to ferry international high school students to vote for Han Dong.
Han Dong, a former Liberal MP for Don Valley North, has been at the centre of controversy regarding alleged foreign interference by China. The CSIS reportedly briefed security-cleared Liberal officials during the 2019 election about “irregularities” in Dong’s nomination as the Liberal Party candidate in Don Valley North.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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