China tried to interfere in Canadian elections, - Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused China of trying to interfere in the country’s elections.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the BBC.
Trudeau accused Beijing of "aggressive games" with democracies and attempts to attack Canadian institutions.
Canadian intelligence has uncovered a "secret network" of Beijing-backed candidates in the last election. China has reportedly backed at least 11 candidates in the 2019 federal election.
A representative of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was "not interested" in Canada's internal affairs.
Citing unnamed intelligence officials, local broadcaster Global News reported that Beijing had funded candidates and that Chinese operatives had acted as campaign advisers to many of the candidates.
The operation, which was reportedly run by the Chinese consulate in Toronto, also aimed to plant operatives in the offices of sitting MPs to try to influence politics.
In addition, attempts were made to "co-opt and corrupt" former Canadian officials to gain influence in political circles.
The attempted intervention is believed to have targeted both major political parties, Trudeau's Liberal Party and the opposition Conservative Party. However, it is unclear whether the operation was successful, the agency writes.
"We have taken significant steps to strengthen the integrity of our election processes and our systems and will continue to invest in the fight against election interference, against foreign interference in our democracies and institutions," Trudeau said.
"Unfortunately, we see how countries, state actors from all over the world, be it China or others, continue to play aggressive games with our institutions, with our democracies," he added.
