A Canadian government task force responsible for monitoring the April federal elections stated that it monitored closely the potential for foreign interference from India but reported no such event. On the other hand, China and Russia were both cited as attempting to interfere with the polls.
The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force (SITE TF) ensured it had "actively monitored for potential foreign interference related activities by the Government of India during GE45 (45th General Election)". However, in its report published on Thursday, it made no mention of such an event.
However, the task force identified a variety of activities attributed to Beijing and Moscow. These included China's global repression campaigns, attempts by China-supported actors to propagate competing narratives regarding contenders in Chinese-speaking Canadians' online forums, and Russian efforts to manipulate the online information and meddle in the election sphere.
A particular instance brought up was China's targeting of Conservative candidate Joe Tay, who was running in Toronto's Don Valley North riding. SITE reported that it had "observed digital transnational repression directed" at him.
Despite these actions, the task force stated none of them undermined Canada's capacity to have "a free and fair election."
Previously, in January, there had been a public review of foreign interference that had told a different story. The final report of the review accused India as being the "second most active country practicing electoral foreign interference in Canada," while China occupied the number one position.
The Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, stated: “India is the second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada. Like the PRC (People’s Republic of China), India is a critical actor on the world stage.”
The report argued that New Delhi views Ottawa as dismissive of its concerns over Khalistani separatism — a movement seeking an independent Sikh homeland in northern India. It further claimed that India “focuses its foreign interference activities on the Indo-Canadian community and on prominent non-Indo-Canadians to achieve its objectives,” and that it has “targeted all levels of government.”
The final report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, headed by Justice Marie-Josee Hogue, stated, “India is the second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada. Like the PRC (People’s Republic of China), India is a critical actor on the world stage.”
“India perceives Canada as not taking India’s national security concerns about Khalistani separatism (the goal of an independent Sikh homeland in northern India called “Khalistan”) sufficiently seriously,” it noted, adding that India “focuses its foreign interference activities on the Indo-Canadian community and on prominent non-Indo-Canadians to achieve its objectives”, adding that New Delhi “has targeted all levels of government”.
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