Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that China almost messed with the last two elections. He does say, though, that it didn’t change the results and that China “probably” didn’t have a favorite party.
The Prime Minister gave a sworn statement in which he was asked about the polls. But even though he answered, he said the elections were still “free and fair.” Lawmakers were upset about the social media posts that showed China might have had a hand in the elections, so the Prime Minister set up the committee.
China has always disputed this, saying the claims were “without any basis in fact.” It cost them about nine seats, according to Erin O’Toole, but it didn’t change the result of the election in the end.
“Nothing we have seen and heard despite, yes, attempts by foreign states to interfere, those elections held in their integrity,” Trudeau said to prove the fairness of the polls. Canadians made the choice.
Trudeau was also asked about a story that said Chinese officials in Canada wanted a Liberal minority because they thought those parties would be less likely to have policies that were against China. Though, Trudeau said he never got the report.
“While individual Chinese officials may have said one thing or another, the impression we got and would continue to get is that it just wouldn’t seem likely that the Chinese government itself would have an opinion in the election,” he said.
Canadian intelligence has recently said that China “secretly and dishonestly interfered in both elections.” A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, on the other hand, said that China doesn’t agree with this or what Trudeau said, saying, “China has never had any interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs.”