Pierre Poilievre’s silence on India keeps getting louder
Poilievre says he won’t commit to ‘oath of secrecy’
CSIS alleges India organized support for Poilievre’s 2022 Conservative leadership bid
Poilievre and his security clearance back in spotlight after leadership meddling accusation
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s refusal to get his security clearance is back in the spotlight on the campaign trail following reports the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) learned that India helped organize support for his leadership bid.
CSIS learned that Indian proxies were involved in raising money and organizing within the South Asian community for Poilievre during the leadership race, which he went on to win in 2022. CSIS didn’t share the information with Poilievre because he didn’t have the necessary security clearance.
- Poilievre took heat today over an allegation that India helped organize support for him when he was running for his job in 2022.
- Poilievre won handily on the first ballot with 68 per cent of the available points.
- The Conservative leader denied the accusation and didn’t mention it during a rally in Ontario.
- The issue brought his refusal to get security clearance back under the microscope.
Agents of India and their proxies allegedly meddled in the 2022 election of Pierre Poilievre as Conservative Party Leader as part of a larger effort to cozy up to politicians of all parties, according to a source with top-secret clearance.
The source said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service learned that Indian agents were involved in raising money and organizing within the South Asian community for Mr. Poilievre during the leadership race, which he won handily. But the CSIS assessment did not indicate that this effort was done in a sweeping and highly organized way, the source said. Mr. Poilievre won on the first ballot with 68 per cent of the vote.
CSIS also did not have evidence that Mr. Poilievre or members of his inner circle were aware of the alleged actions of India’s agents and their proxies, said the source, who has national security clearance to see top secret reports.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source because they were not authorized to disclose classified information publicly.
CSIS did not share this information with Mr. Poilievre, the source said, because he does not have the necessary security clearance to access secret documents and receive classified briefings on foreign-interference activities in Canada. Mr. Poilievre is the only federal party leader who has declined an offer to obtain a security clearance.
Sam Lilly, a spokesman for the Conservative Leader, said Mr. Poilievre’s leadership race followed all relevant rules and laws.
The public inquiry into foreign interference, which held hearings in 2024 and was headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, cited China and India as the main foreign-interference actors in Canada, saying they use diplomats and proxies to meddle in Canadian domestic affairs. In regard to India, Justice Hogue said in her final report in January that proxy agents clandestinely provide “illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians in an attempt to secure the election of pro-India candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office.”
Justice Hogue added, however, that “the intelligence does not necessarily indicate that the elected officials or candidates involved were aware of the interference attempts, nor were the attempts necessarily successful.”
In a statement Monday, CSIS spokesperson Lindsay Sloane said that the agency testified during the Hogue inquiry that there was no reason to believe “impacted candidates would have been aware of the alleged support” from India during the 2022 Conservative leadership race.
Ms. Sloan said the spy service had provided a classified briefing to Ian Todd, chief of staff to Mr. Poilievre, “about foreign interference threat activities and tactics, including allegations of interference in the leadership race.”
She said CSIS takes any allegations of foreign interference seriously and actively investigates
In a report last June, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged Beijing and New Delhi interfered in Conservative leadership races. NSICOP cited “India’s alleged interference in a Conservative Party of Canada leadership race,” but the report did not identify whether this meddling involved Mr. Poilievre or other candidates.
When he launched his campaign in the federal election that was called on Sunday, Mr. Poilievre told reporters that he doesn’t trust the Liberals with a security clearance and noted the obligations of a clearance would restrict his ability to discuss and hold the government to account.
“What I am not going to do is go into a politically directed process by the Liberals that they use to decide what I can see and say and comment on,” he said. He said CSIS is free to brief him directly if the agency feels it’s warranted.
“What I will not do is commit to the oath of secrecy that the Liberals want to impose on me. They don’t want me to be able to speak about these matters,” he said Tuesday during a stop in Vaughan, Ont.
“They will bring you into a dark room and say, ‘We will give you some breadcrumbs of intel and then we will tell you you can’t talk about any of this stuff anymore.'”
Classified information in Canada is protected by the Security of Information Act. Outside of disclosing information on the floor of the House of Commons — where MPs enjoy parliamentary privilege protecting them from arrest — anyone who leaks information could face jail time.
In testimony before the Hogue inquiry in October, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau pointed to the NSICOP report on the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, criticizing Mr. Poilievre for showing “no curiosity or openness in trying to figure out what happened or whether someone was compromised or whether a foreign country impacted those leadership races.”
Justice Hogue has urged all federal party leaders to obtain national-security clearances so they can view top-secret intelligence that may affect members of their parties. Security clearances involve a rigorous process that includes background checks on family members, credit and criminal checks, and intrusive personal questions such as whether they ever used drugs.
In a preinterview transcript tabled at the inquiry, Mr. Trudeau told commission counsel that his national security and intelligence adviser Nathalie Drouin showed him “explosive” intelligence about a political party. Although he did not name the party in the preinterview, Mr. Trudeau told the inquiry on Oct. 16 that he had received highly classified intelligence that Conservative Party politicians and members were involved in or were susceptible to foreign interference.
Mr. Trudeau later acknowledged, under questioning from the Conservative Party’s lawyer, that he had received secret intelligence about Liberals and members of other political parties who were also allegedly compromised by or engaged in foreign interference.
In her final report, Justice Hogue played down the NSICOP report’s allegations that some parliamentarians had either wittingly or unwittingly collaborated with foreign powers. “Although a few cases involving things like attempts to curry favour with parliamentarians have come to light, the phenomenon remains marginal and largely ineffective,” she said. “While the states’ attempts are troubling and there is some concerning conduct by parliamentarians, there is no cause for widespread alarm.”
Poilievre takes aim at Carney’s previous business dealings
Poilievre then went on the offensive, suggesting Carney’s recent position with Brookfield Asset Management, which has a loan with the Bank of China, should raise national security concerns. Carney resigned as chair of the board to run for the Liberal leadership earlier this year.
Carney, who has his security clearance, has already put his assets into a blind trust and said he’s working with the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to put up conflict of interest screens.
However, given the unelected official’s quick ascension to the prime minister’s office and the snap election, that information might not be made public until after Canadians vote.
The initial compliance process for a new prime minister only has to be completed within 120 days of their appointment
“Given that China has murdered our people, taken our people hostage, how will [Carney] ever stand up to foreign interference when he is so financially compromised?” said Poilievre. (This statement does suggest Poilievre could be an Indian Shill?)
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, a Khalistani Rebel whose objective is to carve a separate state out of India as commented by “Stephen Harper suggests infiltration of Khalistani Sikh activists in Liberal Party turns Canada into a “Third World Kiddie Battleground”… and ruined Canada-India relationship”
Jagmeet Singh has been cleared, accused Poilievre of putting his party’s interests ahead of the country’s.
“To me that disqualifies you as a prime minister candidate,” he said from Toronto. “That’s not someone we can trust to stand up to foreign interference.”
Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s NDP aka “Woke Khalistani” seen playing “Voodoo Cosplay” in Toronto, Ontario
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who also went through the security process, said he “never felt muzzled in my whole life.”
He suggested both the Liberals and Conservatives have a lax approach to foreign interference.
“It seems like going on vacation but leaving the garage door open,” he said Tuesday during a media availability. “Anybody can go in, intervene, cheat, influence, and we will act as if it doesn’t exist.”
On Monday, members of the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, set up to monitor foreign interference during elections and leadership contests, promised weekly briefings on foreign meddling during the 37-day federal election campaign.
Vanessa Lloyd, deputy director of operations at CSIS and chair of the SITE Task Force, said security agencies are keeping a close eye on interference activities, particularly by China and India but also by Pakistan and Iran.
“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes, to assert its geopolitical influence,” she said. “Canadian and Canada-based proxies, as well as contacts in their networks, are increasingly relied on to conduct government of India foreign interference activities.”
Indo-Canadian relations went into a deep freeze in September, 2023, when Mr. Trudeau accused agents of India and their proxies of being behind the slaying of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
On Thanksgiving last fall, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme linked Indian government officials to homicides, extortions and coercion committed on Canadian soil. That day, Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma. India staunchly denied the allegations and expelled six Canadian diplomats, sending bilateral relations into an even deeper freeze.
Meanwhile, India aka “Bharat Empire” who expansionism ambition is well know — Akhand Bharat (“Greater Bharat Empire”)… they wanted to conquer land from South East Asia to North America!
India’s Growing Scrutiny:
Latest: Pierre Poilievre took heat today over an allegation that India helped organize support for him when he was running for his job in 2022.
- Recent intelligence suggests India may also engage in election interference, though details are less publicized compared to China.
- Tensions between Canada and India have risen, particularly after Canada accused India of involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist (Hardeep Singh Nijjar) in British Columbia in 2023.
- India has dismissed interference claims, calling them “unfounded.”
Canada last year expelled six Indian diplomats – including the head of mission – over allegations they were involved in a plot against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes,” said Lloyd.
Russia and Pakistan could potentially conduct foreign interference activities against Canada, Lloyd added.
“It’s often very difficult to establish a direct link between foreign interference activities and election results … Nevertheless, threat activities can erode public trust in the integrity of Canada’s democratic processes and institutions,” she said.
Broader Context:
Foreign election interference has become a major issue in Western democracies, with the U.S., UK, and Australia also raising alarms about China and Russia. Canada’s warnings reflect growing geopolitical tensions, particularly with China over espionage and with India over Sikh separatist activism.
Meanwhile,
China, Russia, and Pakistan have no time for Canada’s political shenanigans
Beside India, none of the alleged “bad actors” ie. China, Russia, Pakistan even bother to respond to Canada’s written diarrhea, however, Indian media as usual are more than enthusiastic to start pumping out headlines of the wild allegations by trying to blame them all on China as below:-
India has intent, capability to interfere in Canada elections: Ottawa’s claim
“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian democratic processes,” the task force said.
As the campaign for the federal election on April 28 got underway on Sunday, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force is actively monitoring possible interference activity.
During a briefing on Monday, the task force’s chair, Vanessa Lloyd, also Deputy Director of Operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said, “We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes.”
The task force coordinates the government’s intelligence collection and analysis efforts concerning threats to Canada’s federal election processes, and it includes Global Affairs Canada’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) Canada, which monitors the digital information environment for foreign state-sponsored disinformation.
RRM Canada issued a warning during the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party, which concluded on March 9 with current Prime Minister Mark Carney winning with nearly 86 percent of the ballots cast by registered members of the party.
It stated that Canada and India have worked together for decades, but there were “challenges in the relationship.” Many of these, it said, were longstanding and inform India’s foreign interference activities. “India perceives Canada as not taking India’s national security concerns about Khalistani separatism (the goal of an independent Sikh homeland in northern India called ‘Khalistan’) sufficiently seriously.”
It said that India “focuses its foreign interference activities on the Indo-Canadian community and on prominent non-Indo-Canadians to achieve its objectives,” adding that New Delhi “has targeted all levels of government.”
It also alleged that India conducts such interference through “diplomatic officials in Canada and through proxies.”
Rumor has it India’s PM Narendra Modi is conspiring with New Democratic Party (NDP) headed by a Khalistani separatist rebel Jagmeet Singh to win the election, so that the Sikhs can take over Canada as their Republic of Khalistan, instead of trying to carve a separate state out of India as commented by Stephen Harper, former prime minister of Canada: –
Mayor Chow is complicit in Lawbreaking by posing Safety/Life Risks to the general Public knowingly and wilfully
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