O’Toole Claims Tories Lost 9 Ridings in 2021 Election Because of Chinese Interference
Former Tory leader Erin O’Toole believes that his party lost around nine ridings in the 2021 elections due to interference from the Chinese regime.
During his testimony at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference on April 3, Mr. O’Toole stated that six to nine seats “were possibly impacted by foreign interference.”
The ongoing inquiry is currently in its second phase of hearings, focusing on foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
Mr. O’Toole mentioned that the affected ridings had close margins in the vote counts, with a significant number of people not voting and suspicions of voter suppression.
Although his party did not publicly address the matter following the 2021 electoral defeat, he emphasized that if candidates in those ridings were facing intimidation or suppression, their democratic rights were being violated by foreign entities.
The Conservatives, under Erin O’Toole, had strongly opposed the Chinese regime in their campaign. Their platform stated, “We must stand up to the communist government of China,” clarifying that their issue was not with the Chinese people.
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Mr. O’Toole expressed that this stance made his party a target for Beijing, a sentiment echoed by the security sector.
He mentioned that his China policies were significantly stronger than those of the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
Mr. O’Toole argued that the Trudeau government’s approach towards China differed from that of their allies, particularly the Five Eyes partnership countries.
He asserted that Beijing favored the status quo with the Liberal government.
According to a Chinese consulate official in the report, “The Liberal Party of Canada is becoming the only party that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] can support.”
The public inquiry was initiated following multiple national security leaks depicting extensive interference by the Chinese regime.
Election Integrity Task Force Criticized
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed Mr. O’Toole’s concerns about interference when addressing reporters on April 3.
He mentioned that his government established mechanisms like the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force to safeguard election integrity.
After the 2021 elections, the Conservative Party raised suspicions of Chinese meddling in 13 ridings to SITE. Critics claim that SITE was ineffective and unresponsive.
Walied Soliman, who co-managed the Tories’ campaign in 2021, expressed frustration with the government’s measures against interference, citing a lack of feedback from SITE.
Mr. Soliman and other party representatives with security clearances revealed that they were not warned about Beijing’s targeting of specific ridings in 2021, despite a briefing from SITE highlighting potential interference.
Another SITE report after the elections indicated that Beijing aimed to clandestinely influence the 2021 election.
SITE observed online and media activities discouraging support for Mr. O’Toole and then-Tory MP Kenny Chiu, with potential signs of coordination between Chinese news outlets and regime channels.
‘Regret’
Mr. O’Toole also mentioned feeling personally affected by the 2021 election outcomes as his party lost two seats compared to 2019.
He highlighted this as a factor against his leadership when a movement within the party called for his resignation. Mr. O’Toole was removed in early 2022 and later resigned from his House of Commons seat in the spring of 2023.
Expressing regret to the commission, he acknowledged not speaking out publicly at the time about affected candidates.
“I regret that I didn’t make a statement because I do feel Mr. Chiu, Mr. [Bob] Soraya, and a few other candidates were exposed to a level of misinformation that I think was profoundly unfair,” he said.
Mr. O’Toole explained that the fear of qualifying concerns about Chinese espionage as anti-Asian hate prevented him from publicly addressing the issue.
“It was that inadvertent chill around any conversation of this that led me not to say anything publicly,” he stated.
Further witnesses such as Tory MP Michael Chong and NDP MP Jenny Kwan are scheduled to testify on April 3. The prime minister and other officials will provide testimonies in the forthcoming days.
The public inquiry will hold additional hearings on government mechanisms to counter foreign interference and must submit an initial report by May 3.
