CSIS links 'Indian interference' to Poilievre’s 2022 Conservative leadership bid

Agents from India and their proxies allegedly interfered in the 2022 election of Pierre Poilievre as Conservative Party Leader as part of a broader strategy to build relationships with politicians across all parties, according to a report.

According to The Globe and Mail report, citing a source with top-secret clearance, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) discovered that Indian agents played a role in fundraising and organising support within the South Asian community for Poilievre during the leadership race, which he won decisively.

However, the CSIS assessment suggested that this involvement was not extensive or highly coordinated, added the report.

Poilievre secured victory on the first ballot with 68% of the vote.

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CSIS also found no evidence that Poilievre or his inner circle were aware of the alleged activities conducted by India’s agents and their proxies, according to the source, who has national security clearance to access top-secret reports.

The report comes as Canada on Tuesday flagged the risk of foreign interference and named China and India among major threats ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

Mark Carney, who recently took over as the Prime Minister of Canada, last week announced the country will hold snap elections on April 28.

According to the report, CSIS did not share the information with Poilievre because he lacks the security clearance needed for access to classified documents on foreign interference. He is the only federal party leader who has declined an offer for such clearance.

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Sam Lilly, a spokesman for the Conservative Leader, said Poilievre’s leadership campaign adhered to all relevant rules and laws.

A public inquiry into foreign interference, led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue in 2024, identified China and India as primary actors, using diplomats and proxies to influence Canadian politics.

In her January report, Justice Hogue noted that proxy agents provide “illicit financial support” to Canadian politicians to secure pro-India candidates, but clarified that the intelligence does not confirm whether the involved officials were aware of these attempts, nor whether they were successful, added the report.

In a statement on Monday, CSIS spokesperson Lindsay Sloane said that the agency testified during the Hogue inquiry that there was no reason to believe “impacted candidates would have been aware of the alleged support” from India during the 2022 Conservative leadership race, reported The Globe and Mail.

Sloan said the spy service had provided a classified briefing to Ian Todd, chief of staff to Poilievre, “about foreign interference threat activities and tactics, including allegations of interference in the leadership race.”

She said CSIS takes any allegations of foreign interference seriously and actively investigates.

In a report last June, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged that Beijing and New Delhi interfered in Conservative leadership races, mentioning “India’s alleged interference” without specifying if it involved Poilievre or other candidates.

Upon launching his campaign in the federal election called on Sunday, Poilievre said he doesn’t trust the Liberals with a security clearance and emphasised that such a clearance would limit his ability to hold the government accountable.

“What I am not going to do is go into a politically directed process by the Liberals that they use to decide what I can see and say and comment on,” The Globe and Mail quoted Poilievre as saying.

He said CSIS is free to brief him directly if the agency feels it’s warranted.

In October testimony before the Hogue inquiry, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticised Poilievre for lacking curiosity about potential foreign interference in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, referencing the NSICOP report.

Justice Hogue urged all federal party leaders to obtain national-security clearances to access top-secret intelligence affecting their parties, a process involving thorough background checks and intrusive personal questions.

In a pre-interview transcript, Trudeau mentioned receiving “explosive” intelligence regarding Conservative Party members’ susceptibility to foreign interference, later acknowledging similar concerns about Liberals and others.

Hogue’s final report downplayed NSICOP’s claims of parliamentarians collaborating with foreign powers, stating that while attempts to influence them exist, they remain marginal and largely ineffective.

On Monday, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force announced it would provide weekly briefings on foreign interference during the 37-day federal election campaign.

Vanessa Lloyd, deputy director of operations at CSIS and chair of the SITE Task Force, said that security agencies are closely monitoring interference activities, particularly from China and India, as well as Pakistan and Iran.

“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes, to assert its geopolitical influence,” The Globe and Mail quoted Lloyd as saying.

“Canadian and Canada-based proxies, as well as contacts in their networks, are increasingly relied on to conduct government of India foreign interference activities,” she added.

Indo-Canadian relations soured dramatically in September 2023 when Prime Minister Trudeau accused Indian agents and their proxies of being involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

On Thanksgiving last fall, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme linked Indian government officials to homicides, extortions, and coercion on Canadian soil.

On that day, Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats, including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma.

India vehemently denied the allegations and retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats, further straining bilateral relations.

With inputs from agencies