New Delhi: The Canadian inquiry on foreign interference has alleged that India was the “second-most” active state actor engaged in interfering in Canadian polls, a charge refuted by New Delhi. The Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, published the final seven-volume report of the 15-month long investigation Tuesday.
The inquiry was originally intended to investigate the roles of China and Russia but its mandate was expanded last January to include alleged activities by the Indian government. “India has tried to pressure Canada to go beyond the parameters of Canadian law to counter supporters of an independent Khalistan. India’s foreign interference activities attempt to have Canada’s position align with its own about key issues, particularly about supporters of Khalistani separatism,” said the final report in volume three, chapter 10.
The report added: “India conducts foreign interference through its state officials in Canada and through proxies. A body of intelligence indicates that Government of India proxy agents may have provided, and may continue to be clandestinely providing, illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians in an attempt to secure the election of pro-Indian candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office.”
Justice Hogue, however, said that “intelligence does not necessarily indicate” that efforts were successful or that the electoral officials were “aware” of the alleged attempts to meddle.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was quick to reject the “insinuations” made on “purported interference” in Canadian domestic politics late Tuesday evening. “It is in fact Canada which has been consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs. This has also created an environment for illegal migration and organized criminal activities. We reject the report’s insinuations on India and expect that the support system enabling illegal migration will not be further countenanced,” said the MEA in a statement.
Ties between the two countries have been strained since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian authorities were investigating “credible allegations” of links between Indian agents and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an India-designated terrorist, on Canadian soil.
Trudeau made the statement in September 2023 after the newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that an inquiry was on to probe alleged links, as noted in Justice Hogue’s findings. Subsequently to Trudeau’s announcement, Canada expelled one Indian diplomat, which led to tit-for-tat action by India. New Delhi has consistently rejected Canada’s claims, and has also made it clear that Trudeau’s allegations were part of his attempts to “pander” to certain sections for “narrow political gain”.
ThePrint takes a look at what the final report said about foreign involvement in the North American country’s electoral processes.
‘6 cases of meddling’
The report has identified six major instances of alleged interference since 2018, highlighting four, namely Pakistani government officials attempting to influence the 2019 federal election, a foreign government official suspected of interference aimed at a Liberal party candidate, China actively supporting a Liberal candidate in a riding (electoral constituency) in Don Valley North and proxy agents connected to India providing financial support to candidates. On the incidents involving India, Justice Hogue in volume two, chapter eight of the report said, “Intelligence holdings also reveal that a Government of India proxy agent may have attempted to clandestinely provide financial support to candidates from three political parties in 2021. The source of any such financial contribution could have been unknown to the candidates.”
The report highlighted that in 2021 the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) had briefed current and former members of Parliament on alleged interference by India. The briefings were both classified and unclassified.
The focus of alleged Indian interference was on the “clandestine” funding by proxy agents purportedly connected to New Delhi.
The report also noted that not all of India’s alleged activities were “covert”, especially in apparent interference in the leadership race of the Conservative Party of Canada, which is currently the largest opposition party in the country.
“India’s activities primarily target the approximately 800,000 members of the Sikh diaspora in Canada and aim to promote a pro-India and anti-Khalistan narrative. The RCMP’s (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) statement in October 2024, on violent criminal activity in Canada, including homicides and extortion, with connections to the agents of the Government of India, is consistent with the classified evidence,” the report said.
Public inquiry takes aim at NSICOP
Justice Hogue, however, took aim at a number of assertions made in a Canadian parliamentary report last summer which alleged India had funded political parties to gain influence in the country. In June 2024, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) made several claims, saying India funded nomination contests, and received classified information from elected officials in Canada.
“In my view the NSICOP report went too far in making assertions about the willingness or complicity of parliamentarians… NSICOP reported that an elected official proactively provided confidential information to Indian officials at a particular time. This was an extremely grave allegation, particularly because the information in question was significant,” said the final report in volume four.
The report added: “However, while investigating this allegation, the Commission discovered that at the time the elected official allegedly provided the confidential information, it had already been made public by the government. In other words, if the official did in fact provide information to Indian officials, that information was not confidential at the time.”
In another instance, the NSICOP report highlighted how an unnamed member of Parliament was compromised by a particular foreign state. The NSICOP report cited a specific intelligence product, but mentioned the wrong country, essentially misidentifying the wrong foreign actor.
The NSICOP report further said the particular unnamed MP was assessed by CSIS as compromised. However, Justice Hogue noted that the CSIS’ intelligence product said a third party had claimed the particular MP was compromised, rather than making its own individual assessment.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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