Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered an independent special rapporteur to investigate the alleged Chinese interference in the recent Canadian elections.
Trudeau, while speaking in the Parliament Hill said that it is job of his government to protect the institutions and everyone who calls Canada home. Therefore, to protect the democratic institutions, to defend their integrity, and to uphold and strengthen confidence in the democracy, an probe will be conducted by National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) to review classified reports about the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
The majority of Canadians believe that foreign governments interfere in its elections and canadians want the matter to be independently investigated, he ssid.
According to a report, three out of every five Canadians believe that foreign governments have influenced federal elections this century. China and Russia top the list of countries that have influenced the country’s elections the most.
The survey also found that 64 per cent of Canadians are in favour of an independent investigation into the matter, 21 per cent are against it and 15 per cent are yet to decide.
Media reports, which emerged after national security sources sided, alleged that China tried its best to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Meanwhile, China has denied its involvement in any Canadian elections and called the reports “purely baseless and defamatory”.