Canada Says China Likely Behind Disinformation-Campaign Targeting Lawmaker

Canada said Wednesday it is “highly probable” that China helped orchestrate an online disinformation campaign against a Conservative Party lawmaker in May, as officials step up efforts to detect and deter what they say is Chinese interference in Canadian politics.

The alleged campaign unfolded over 10 days in May on the Chinese messaging app WeChat, Canada’s Foreign Department said, and targeted Conservative Party lawmaker Michael Chong. Chong was instrumental in getting Canada’s legislature, back in 2021, to formally declare Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority a genocide, and he has repeatedly criticized the incumbent Liberal government for failing to take a harder line against Beijing.

Most of the activity on WeChat, Canada said, focused on “spreading false narratives about Chong’s identity, including commentary and claims about his background, political stances and family heritage.” Canada’s Foreign Department added that there was no indication Chong or his family faced any security threat.

Canada said “it is highly probable that China played a role in the information operation.” One-third of the sources that issued material about Chong included state-media outlets and accounts “likely linked to the Chinese state apparatus but whose linkages may be opaque,” officials said, adding they estimate that between two million and five million WeChat users globally viewed the content.

“Canada will never accept any form of interference in our democracy or internal affairs,” the Foreign Department said, adding that it intended to tell Chinese diplomats its concern about the WeChat activity.

A statement from China’s embassy in Ottawa said China “never interferes in a country’s internal affairs, and has no interests in doing so,” adding accusations of China trying to meddle in Canadian politics are “groundless.” A spokeswoman for WeChat’s owner, China-based Tencent Holdings, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In its findings, Canada said the campaign against Chong “likely violated WeChat’s user code of conduct,” but they found no indication that WeChat tried to apply its content-moderation standards.

Canadian officials in May told Chong about intelligence reports that initially circulated in 2021 that indicated a Chinese diplomat in Toronto asked officials in China to track and potentially intimidate Chong’s relatives in Hong Kong. That diplomat was expelled shortly after Chong’s briefing. A Canadian security official told lawmakers that neither the prime minister nor other ministers in the cabinet had been informed of the security risks Chong’s relatives faced.

The allegations of Chinese government meddling in Canadian politics have roiled the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

China has repeatedly denied allegations of domestic interference, saying they “are unfounded.”

Trudeau had initially tried to play down concerns about the alleged Chinese activity, arguing that officials had assured him the 2021 election was conducted fairly. In June, he committed to work with the opposition parties to set up a commission, possibly led by a judge, to investigate. Those talks are continuing.

Chong said the latest information is further evidence of alleged Chinese targeting in Canadian politics, and he called on the Trudeau administration to set up the formal inquiry, establish a foreign-agent registry and remove other Beijing-appointed diplomats in Canada.

“Clearly more must be done to combat foreign interference from Beijing,” Chong said.

Write to Paul Vieira at [email protected]