Chinese government interference in Canada

The Canadian government has been tracking Chinese government efforts to influence Canada since at least 1986.[2] These overseas influence operations have allegedly risen to the extent that they represent an alarming security threat to the United States, who conducted a secret probe of the issue in the 1990s, according to former Canadian and US intelligence officials.[3]

In 2016, newspaper sources reported that Justin Trudeau had been attending cash-for-access events at the homes of wealthy Chinese-Canadians in Toronto and Vancouver, generating a political scandal.[4][5][6][7] Attendees at these events, including attendees with connections to the CCP, would pay up to $1,525 per ticket to meet Trudeau. In response, the Liberal Party indicated that all party fundraising complied with Elections Canada rules and regulations.[4][8]

While there is no official Chinese police presence on Canadian soil, several reports and allegations have surfaced regarding the presence of clandestine Chinese police stations in Canada. Among these are claims that Chinese law enforcement officials have been conducting unofficial operations within Canadian borders, targeting Chinese nationals and Canadian citizens alike.[9][10]

Clandestine Chinese police stations are reported to operate in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto.[11] Such operations could be used to intimidate, monitor, and control the Chinese community in Canada, potentially infringing upon their rights and freedoms.[10][12] Furthermore, there have been claims that Chinese law enforcement officers have been operating under the guise of Chinese community organizations or businesses in Canada, further blurring the lines between legitimate community support and potential foreign government influence.[12]

China describes the foreign outposts as "service stations" for Chinese abroad, and accuses Canada of "smearing".[13]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the reports in March 2023 by saying that "we've known about the (presence of) Chinese police stations across the country for many months, and we are making sure that the RCMP is following up on it and that our intelligence services take it seriously."[13]

The RCMP is investigating the activities of two alleged Chinese police stations in Quebec: one in Montreal, and the other in nearby Brossard.[14] They are also investigating the activities of alleged Chinese police stations in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area.[15][16]

While the US has already conducted arrests over Chinese police stations operating on its territory, no closures or arrests of overseas police station personnel have taken place in Canada.[15] The lack of a foreign agents registry, as exists in the US, UK, and Australia, is cited as being a major impediment to enforcement against Chinese police stations operating in Canada.[17][18]

The two alleged stations in Quebec are reported to still be operating as of May 2023.[19]

In a report by the Globe and Mail, based on a top-secret intelligence document and an anonymous national security source, the family of outspoken Conservative MP Micheal Chong was allegedly targeted for harassment by the Chinese government as part of China's state interference in Canadian politics.[20][21][22] The campaign against Chong's family began in February 2021 after Chong voted in favor of a House of Commons motion condemning China's treatment of its Uyghur minority as genocide.[23] At the time, China sanctioned Chong by barring him from entry and prohibiting Chinese citizens from conducting business with him.[23]

As part of the intimidation operation to get Chong to change his political position, an officer in the Ministry of State Security gathered information to target Chong's family in China.[23] Chong also revealed that a Toronto-based Chinese diplomat, Wei Jo, “was involved in conducting these intimidation operations”.[24] Chong accused the federal government of failing to inform him about allegations that Beijing wanted to intimidate his family.[25][23]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he knew that after Chong was sanctioned by China in 2021, CSIS was giving the MP what Trudeau called “defensive” briefings, but claimed that CSIS withheld information about China's threats to Chong.[24][26] However, Chong claims that the top secret document made its way to Trudeau's national security advisor and the Privy Council's Office.[23] According to CBC News, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has told Canada's spy agency it needs to share more information about threats to MPs while being adamant that he only learned of reports that the Chinese government was targeting a Conservative MP and his family this week.[25][24]

The Trudeau government has been reluctant to expel Wei Jo, the Chinese diplomat involved, because it will affect "economic interests, consular interests, and also diplomatic interests" according to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, and could lead to "potential backlash".[23][27] Chong says that he is "astounded" by this reluctance and believes that it will embolden China to target more Canadians.[23]

According to Chong, other Canadian MPs are also alleged to have been targeted by the Ministry of State Security, but their identities have not been revealed.[23] In August 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Chong and his family had been the target of an online disinformation operation by the Chinese government.[28]

China is reported to use social media platforms like WeChat to shape public opinion and manipulate political discourse among Chinese Canadian diaspora.[29] This includes the spreading of false or misleading information to create confusion, sow discord, or undermine confidence in political institutions.[30] By using bots and fake accounts, China is able to amplify divisive content or create the appearance of grassroots support for certain narratives. The Chinese government also uses astroturfing through the creation of seemingly independent, grassroots movements that are, in fact, controlled or funded by the Chinese government or its proxies. These groups may use social media to promote pro-CCP narratives, discredit critics, or manipulate public opinion.[31][32][33]

In late 2022, Global News reported on a suspected attempt by the government of China to infiltrate the Parliament of Canada by funding a network of candidates to run in the country's 2019 federal election.[34][35][36][37][38] The operation is reported to have been successful in moderating the Conservative Party stance towards China: according to Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former head of CSIS's Asia-Pacific desk, "the Chinese have successfully scared and bullied the Conservatives."[39]

Chinese security agencies are known to try to compromise Canadian officials who travel to China.[40]

According to the 2017 “Memorandum for the Prime Minister”, prepared by Trudeau's National Security Advisor, Daniel Jean, “Canadian officials are highly likely to be subjects of Chinese efforts to exert undue influence or otherwise compromise their independence during travel to China."[40] The Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), which reports to the United Front Work Department, is one of the key state agencies that regularly funds trips of Canadian politicians.[41] Between 2006 and 2017, Canadian parliamentarians took 36 trips to China, sponsored by arms of the Chinese government or by Chinese-affiliated business groups.[41]

In 2018, Ted Jiancheng Zhou, owner of Shanghai Oriental Capital Group and Evertrust Development Group Canada Inc.,[42] travelled to China with Conservative senators Victor Oh, Don Plett, and Leo Housakos, along with their spouses. On this two-week all-expense paid trip, the politicians were introduced to senior Chinese Communist Party officials and fêted, including at a lavish dinner at the five-star St. Regis Hotel in Beijing.[42][41]

During the years he was a backbench MP from 2008 to 2015, John McCallum, who subsequently served as ambassador to China for the Trudeau government, is reported to have enjoyed $73,300 in all-expenses paid trips to China at the expense of Beijing-friendly groups, prior to being appointed ambassador.[41][43]

In July 2023, a former RCMP officer, William Majcher, was arrested in Vancouver on accusations of conducting foreign interference operations on behalf of the Chinese government.[44]

• Foreign electoral intervention
• Entryism
• Chinese intelligence activity abroad
• Chinese police overseas service stations
• Canada–China relations