Foreign meddling may have flipped B.C. riding, inquiry finds

Foreign meddling attempts didn't change who won the last two federal elections in Canada, but may have changed the result in one B.C. riding in 2021, according to a public inquiry that concluded Friday.

The inquiry waslaunched in January after beingtriggered by media reports last which, citing unnamed security sources and classified documents, accused China of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

A preliminary report by commissioner Marie-Jose Hoguereleaed Friday said the extent of the impact of foreign interference is unknown, though the number of races involved is small.

"The ultimate effects of foreign interference remain uncertain," she said in her interim report.

She singled out the 2021 results in theBritishColumbiariding of StevestonRichmond East, where she said there is a "reasonable possibility" that a foreign interference campaign targeting Conservative candidateKennyChiumay have cost him the seat.

• Read more about the findings in Hogue's report

In her report, Hogue wrote that the campaign "could have impacted the result" inChiu's riding in 2021. But in a subsequent statement, she appeared to go a step further.

"There is one riding where disinformation may have led to the election of one candidate over another," said Hogue, who did not take questions Friday.

"But I cannot say for sure."

WATCH | Ousted B.C. MP criticizes delay of foreignmeddling probe:

'Late is better than never' former MP says of foreign interference report

4 months ago

Duration 2:22

A preliminary report has found Conservative MP Kenny Chiu may have lost his seat in 2021 in part because of foreign interference in the B.C. riding of StevestonRichmond East. Chiu says he's glad his concerns are being taken seriously.

Overall impact uncertain

During the campaign, misinformation about the Conservative Party, Erin O'Toole who was Conservative leader at the time andChiu circulated on social media platformswith ties to the People's Republic of China (PRC), such as WeChat.

Chiu has said he believes he was targetedover his proposed bill to set up a public registry in Canada that would track foreign influence campaigns.

Hogue's report said while no definitive link between these false narratives and Beijing has been proven, "there are strong indicators of PRC involvement."

She said there's a "reasonable possibility that the media narrative" could have affected the result in StevestonRichmond East, but it's difficult to determine.

"Nonetheless, the acts of interference that occurred are a stain on our electoral process and impacted the process leading up to the actual vote," she said.

"The facts revealed by the evidence I have heard so far show that intelligence agencies collected information about troubling events that occurred in a handful of ridings during the 2019 and 2021 elections."

Chiu sayshe's glad Hogue's report looked into the concerns in his riding and in others across Canada, but he criticized the Liberal government for taking too long to investigate.

"Late is better than never," Chiutold CBC's On The Coast on Friday.

Chiu says while the final report won't come until the end of the year,the evidence suggests"that Canada is a fertile ground for foreign interference."

"And like Judge Hogue said, diaspora communities,unfortunately,areat the frontline and they get the brunt of it," he said.

O'Toole testifiedin April that he believes his party lost five to nine seats because of a foreign misinformation campaign aimed at Conservative candidates in B.C. and Ontario, and at his party more generally.

Hogue said in her report she didn't see evidence to match O'Toole's numbersbut she didconcludethat foreign interference "likely impacted some votes."

"The fact that the narratives targeting Mr. Chiu and Mr. O'Toole had died down by election day does not mean they had no effect," Hogue wrote.

Chiu, who was first elected in the riding in 2019 after coming second in 2015, was defeated in the 2021 election by Liberal Parm Bains, by a count of 16,543 votes to 13,066.

WATCH | Chiu testifies at the foreign interferene inquiry:

'I thought I would be protected by my country,' former MP tells foreign interference inquiry

5 months ago

Duration 4:03

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu told the public inquiry into foreign interference that he might not have run for office, if he'd known Canadian intelligence showing he was the target of Chinese government interference would not be shared with him.