A public inquiry found that foreign interference is a “stain” on Canada’s electoral process and undermines the right to a system free of “coercion or covert influence.”
The report also noted that China “stands out as a major perpetrator” of such incursions.
The investigation examined interference in Canada’s last two general elections in 2019 and 2021.
However, it was not found that the outcome of the voting had been affected.
“Our systems remain solid,” Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue said at a press conference following the release of the report on Friday.
“Voters were able to cast their votes, their votes were properly registered and counted, and there is no evidence that any interference took place in this regard.”
The preliminary report is the first of two reports expected from the Commission.
It is investigating foreign interference in the two elections as well as senior officials’ handling of information about interference during the election period.
The report said China “secretly exploited” Canadian officials to help its “preferred” candidates take office in 2019.
China did this by using Canada-based officials as “proxies” to bar “political candidates perceived as ‘anti-China'” from attending local election-related events, the report said.
The report also said intelligence assessments suggested at least two transfers of funds – about $250,000 (£192,000) each – from Chinese officials in Canada, “possibly for purposes related to foreign interference.”
Another foreign interference tactic mentioned in the report is targeting diaspora Canadians by threatening their families in their countries of origin. It blamed both China and Russia.
The 194-page document is based on the Commission of Inquiry’s first phase of hearings, which heard public testimony in April from witnesses including members of Parliament, national security officials, senior government officials and others Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In his statement, Mr. Trudeau defended his government’s efforts to ensure electoral integrity, saying the 2019 and 2021 federal elections were “free and fair” and decided only by Canadians.
The Commission also held closed-door hearings on classified intelligence information on the matter.
In the public hearings, Canadians learned how China and other foreign governments may have tried to interfere in the last two elections.
In a briefing note on the investigation, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said the Chinese government “secretly and fraudulently” interfered in both elections.
The intelligence agency warned that the information released may have come from a single source, is incomplete and has “varying degrees of reliability.”
Some of the allegations heard during the investigation include:
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That in 2019 Beijing funded a charter bus to send Chinese private school students to help a liberal politician secure his party’s nomination and that the students were forced to support him. Politician Han Dong denied knowledge of anything improper
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An attempt to funnel funds from China to an unnamed candidate’s associate and then to others during the 2019 election in a possible interference attempt, an unclassified CSIS document says
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Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole testified that she believes her party lost up to nine seats in 2021 in contests with large Chinese-Canadian populations due to interference efforts
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Conservative MP Michael Chong spoke about how he learned he was the target of a Chinese campaign, including disinformation on the social media app WeChat, because of his support for China’s Uyghur minority
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In the case of India, CSIS said the activities were carried out by a proxy of the Indian government and “focused on a small number of constituencies” to support pro-India candidates
China and India have repeatedly denied allegations that they were among the countries that interfered in Canada’s affairs.
Those affected by the alleged interference efforts accuse officials and CSIS of not doing enough about it or keeping them in the dark altogether.
There will be further hearings this fall; A final report from the investigation is expected by the end of the year.