Procedure and House Affairs

This House of Commons committee meeting on foreign election interference featured witnesses from the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, including Vanessa Lloyd (CSIS), Bridget Walshe (CSE), Saliou Babou (Global Affairs Canada), and Greg O'Hayon (RCMP).

Vanessa Lloyd stated that the SITE Task Force monitored threats during the 45th general election and provided classified briefings to security-cleared party representatives, but she declined to specify how many ridings or candidates were targeted by foreign interference, citing privacy and national security concerns. She confirmed that observed incidents were small-scale and did not meet the panel's threshold for impacting Canada's ability to hold a free and fair election, and that the after-action report identified activities linked to China and Russia, with monitoring also for India and Pakistan.

Bridget Walshe emphasized that the task force worked collaboratively across agencies to assess threats to all ridings and that cybersecurity advice and a hotline were provided to candidates during the election. She noted that the Get Cyber Safe campaign and publications on AI threats aim to inform Canadians, and that the task force engages with social media platforms to provide context on threats but does not request content removal.

Saliou Babou explained that the Rapid Response Mechanism monitors information manipulation across platforms and shares findings with social media companies, but relationships vary and the government does not ask platforms to take down content. He confirmed that two disinformation campaigns were identified on WeChat and that the task force communicates on various platforms, including in multiple languages, to reach Canadians where they consume information.

Greg O'Hayon confirmed that an RCMP criminal investigation was opened regarding threats against candidate Joe Tay in Don Valley North, but he could not provide further details on the investigation or whether threats persisted, and he stated that the RCMP does not publicly disclose the existence of criminal investigations until charges are laid. He noted that when suspected interference crosses into criminal or coercive conduct under the Criminal Code or Security Offences Act, the RCMP investigates and shares incident visibility with SITE partners.

The committee heard that the panel was briefed six times on the Don Valley North case and that cleared Conservative Party representatives were briefed twice. A Conservative member expressed frustration that the task force would not disclose the number of ridings targeted, while a Liberal member noted that a party leader without security clearance cannot directly receive classified intelligence. The witnesses agreed that reaching Canadians abroad and younger demographics on social media remains a challenge, and that ongoing public opinion research may inform future outreach efforts.