No need to overturn nomination amid alleged irregularities, Liberal official says
The director of the Liberal election campaign in 2019 says he recommended Justin Trudeau take no action on alleged nomination irregularities in a Toronto riding.
Jeremy Broadhurst's testimony Tuesday at a federal inquiry shed fresh light on suggestions of Chinese interference in the selection of Han Dong as the Liberal nominee in Don Valley North five years ago.
Dong left the Liberal caucus following media reports about allegations he willingly participated in Chinese meddling and won his seat in 2019 with Beijing's help — accusations he denies.
Broadhurst described Tuesday how intelligence officials briefed Liberal party representatives in 2019 about the alleged irregularities, prompting him to pass the information on to the prime minister.
A summary of unconfirmed government intelligence presented to the inquiry last week said Chinese international students with fake addresses had been bused into the riding and coerced to vote for Dong's nomination to avoid losing their student visas.
"We talked to the experienced Liberal party volunteer who ran the meeting to see if there was anything out of the usual," Broadhurst recalled Tuesday. "It was a hotly contested nomination, it was busy. But there was nothing that stood out as abnormal."
In addition, he said, the intelligence officials did not recommend that the party take any measures as a result of the information.
"Hundreds of people had come up to express their democratic will," said Broadhurst, adding he thought the bar for overturning the result "should be extremely high."
He said he recommended to Trudeau "that no action be taken," and the prime minister "decided at that time that there was there was no action for him to take."
The hearings are part of the commission of inquiry's examination of possible foreign interference by China, India, Russia and others in the last two general elections.
Trudeau's deputy chief of staff, Brian Clow, told the commission he advocated for the public release of a classified document that he believed would clear Dong's name in relation to a separate allegation.
Dong has been accused of advocating against the immediate release of two Canadians detained in China — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — during a 2021 phone call he had with a Chinese consular official.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service ultimately opted not to release a summary of the call, which Clow said he felt would exonerate Dong.
"If a document is leaked to the media, it appears in the news, that can't be the last word," Clow testified Tuesday.
"There should be a way to get more facts out so a person can defend themselves and so Canadians can know the truth."
Dong told the commission last week he didn't recall the conversation but said he always advocated for the early release of the "two Michaels."
An initial report of findings from the commission is due May 3.
The inquiry will then shift to broader policy issues, looking at the government's ability to detect, deter and counter foreign interference. A final report is expected by the end of the year.
While foreign meddling may take place during Canadian elections, that doesn't mean it works — a distinction the prime minister's national security adviser tried to make clear Tuesday at the inquiry.
A 2023 CSIS memo tabled at the inquiry this week says state actors can interfere successfully in Canada because there are few legal or political consequences.
Foreign interference "is therefore low-risk and high-reward," the service concludes in the heavily redacted document.
National security and intelligence adviser Nathalie Drouin took issue with the service's characterization of the interference as successful, saying Canadians might mistakenly think foreign actors had an impact on Canada's election results.
"We should not confuse the two," she testified before the commission Tuesday. Drouin is also deputy clerk of the Privy Council, a position she held during the last general election.
"I think we have said, and we repeat, that (foreign interference) exists in Canada, and we have said also that we haven't seen that those attempts and activities … had an impact in the two elections."
The CSIS document was prepared as part of a briefing for the prime minister in response to media reports containing leaked intelligence about possible foreign meddling. Those media reports set off a groundswell of support for an inquiry into the integrity of Canadian elections.
The document asserted that China "clandestinely and deceptively" interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 general elections.
It said Chinese activities in the two contests were focused largely on supporting those seen as pro-China or neutral on issues of interest to Beijing.
Officials who work in the Prime Minister's Office said many of the sentiments outlined in the briefing note were not relayed to them or the prime minister.
"Particularly the very stark conclusions at the bottom of the document," Clow said.
Senior bureaucrats did not find the activities in either election were serious enough to warrant notifying the public under a special protocol.
In private testimony last month to the commission, former Privy Council clerk Janice Charette spoke of a foreign interference concern that occurred during the 2021 election.
A public summary of the testimony, made public Tuesday, does not identify the concern.
The panel of five bureaucrats responsible for monitoring the election found it did not meet the threshold for a public announcement, but believed "that some mitigation was necessary," the summary states.
In her capacity as clerk, Charette asked CSIS director David Vigneault "to come back to her with options and advice about what, if anything, could be done," the summary adds.
"Ms. Charette and the CSIS director agreed upon a way forward to address the concern," which was not raised directly with Trudeau at the time.
Charette testified Tuesday that she and Vigneault agreed to brief the Liberal party on a matter related to foreign interference during the election — though she did not clarify if it was the same incident.
The prime minister is expected to appear at the inquiry Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.
Local Spotlight
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.