China meddling in Canadian election again? Watchdog says Beijing shaping opinion about PM Carney

As China and Canada go back and forth on alleged election interference, Ottawa’s watchdog that detects poll meddling has found that Beijing tried to influence opinions among Chinese Canadians regarding Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force on Monday revealed that China’s social media WeChat is being used to carry praise-worthy messages for Carney, with some of the posts reading “the United States is facing a tough prime minister from Canada,” according to a report by The Globe and Mail.

The post further said that the Liberal Leader was “quick and responsive” during the 2008 financial crisis, was called a “rock star economist” by British media and has been described as “the only adult in the room” as the Brexit crisis unfolded.

Laurie-Anne Kempton, an assistant secretary to the cabinet, said, “The People’s Republic of China should not be trying to shape the opinions of Canadians, especially during an election period.”

Last month, Canada’s Security Intelligence Service said that China and India are likely to try to interfere in the Canadian general election on April 28, while Russia and Pakistan have the potential to do so.

During the 2024-25 public inquiry into foreign interference, the Canadian government faced criticism for failing to inform voters about foreign interference efforts during election campaigns.

What has the new report found?

The SITE task force, in its report, said that it believes the “information operation was intended to influence Canadian-Chinese communities in Canada (i.e. speakers of a Chinese language, such as Mandarin, Cantonese, or Hakka) and looked to mould perceptions” about PM Carney.

The agency said it saw “large spikes of coordinated inauthentic behaviour preceding the election campaign, on March 10, and again during the writ period on March 25, 2025.”

“This content has been amplified in a co-ordinated and inauthentic way. This information operation had contrasting positive and negative narratives, first amplifying Mr. Carney’s stance with the United States and then targeting his experience and credentials,” Kempton said.

SITE shared links to two posts that were promoted on WeChat as part of an information campaign regarding Carney. Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat, described one post as being relatively neutral, offering a factual account of Carney and the political landscape in Canada ahead of the election.

The second post, however, was more favorable, portraying him as a technocrat, highlighting his career accomplishments, and repeatedly praising his ability to manage financial crises.