Canada’s foreign interference inquiry report lands Tuesday. What to know – National

Is Canada ready and able to detect, deter and counter foreign interference?

Canada’s foreign interference commission will present its final report into the question on Tuesday, capping off nearly 16 months of work at a time when all eyes are also on the Liberal leadership race and the looming federal election, which could come as soon as this spring.

The inquiry was first established in September 2023 after a series of reports by Global News and the Globe and Mail exposed alleged attempts at meddling by foreign actors like China in recent federal elections and raised questions about the government’s response.

Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal, was appointed as commissioner.

Multiple government officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have testified to the commission. An interim report released last year by Hogue determined that while foreign interference did not change the outcome of Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections, it did undermine the rights of Canadian voters because it “tainted the process” and eroded public trust.

That interim report highlighted “troubling events” in the last two elections, which Hogue described as “a stain on our electoral process.”

So, what happens on Tuesday?

The commission’s investigation was conducted in two phases.

The first phase dealt specifically with interference that China, Russia and other foreign actors may have engaged in and any impact it may have had on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Hearings in the first phase were held in March and April last year, with the commission submitting the interim report in May.

The initial report concluded that efforts by authoritarian regimes – primarily China – to meddle in Canada’s democratic institutions prevented some Canadians from casting an “informed vote.”

The report, to be submitted on Tuesday, will deal with the second phase of the commission’s inquiry.

The second phase looked at the role of government departments and agencies in detecting, deterring and countering foreign interference.

Hearings for the second phase were held in September and October last year. In addition to public servants, the commission also heard from members of nearly a dozen different diaspora groups.

The commission’s public consultation team prepared summaries of the information it received from members of the Canadian public through more than 200 written submissions, 624 questionnaire responses and consultation meetings held with 105 individual members of diaspora communities.

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The commission held public hearings with more than 70 high-profile government officials, with hearings concluding on Oct. 16 with Trudeau.

Current and former cabinet ministers — Dominic LeBlanc, Bill Blair, Pascale St-Onge, Mélanie Joly and Marco Mendicino — were also on the commission’s witness list.

The commission heard from officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Privy Council Office, Public Safety Canada, Global Affairs Canada, the RCMP, CSIS and other key government departments.

Members of Parliament, representing all major parties in Parliament, were also called before the commission, including former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole.

While the next steps and recommendations are unclear until the specific findings are revealed, the report comes amid two, potentially three, major electoral processes.

Voting in the Liberal leadership race will conclude on March 9 and the new leader — and by extension, prime minister — will be announced on the same day.

The Liberal leadership vote will be the first major party leadership race since the establishment of the foreign interference commission’s inquiry and has raised questions in recent weeks about whether the process could be vulnerable to foreign interference.

The new Liberal leader will become prime minister for as long as the party remains the government, and will lead the party into the next election.

Canada’s most populous province is also heading into an election soon. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced that he will meet with the lieutenant-governor on Tuesday to trigger an election campaign beginning Wednesday, for a vote on Feb. 27.

Experts have also speculated that Canada could be heading towards a spring federal election.

A federal campaign must happen no later than October.

–with files from The Canadian Press

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