Former Canadian politician suspected of working for foreign government: CSIS
No identifying information about the parliamentarian — whether they were a senator or MP, or what party they belonged to — was included in the documents, nor was the country they were allegedly working for named.
A former Canadian politician is suspected of attempting to influence parliamentary work on behalf of a foreign government, according to documents released by the foreign interference commission on Friday.
The documents did not provide any identifying details about the politician, such as whether they were a senator or a Member of Parliament, or which political party they were affiliated with. The name of the country they were allegedly working for was also not disclosed.
This revelation marks a previously unknown case of direct foreign interference in Canada's democracy. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), in collaboration with other security and intelligence agencies, compiled a list of six notable instances of suspected foreign interference in recent years.
Four of these incidents had been previously examined by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue’s inquiry into foreign influence during the federal elections of 2019 and 2021. The remaining two cases were made public for the first time.
Among these cases, the list includes the parliamentarian suspected of covertly working for a foreign government. It also details an instance of another country attempting to block the election of a Liberal MP.
"Reports suggest a foreign government engaged in several actions, including interference, to reduce the chances of a particular Liberal candidate being elected federally," the document stated.
"It is believed that the foreign government sought to undermine the candidate's campaign due to their support for issues seen as opposing the foreign government's interests."
