‘I did not create this message’: Ont. councillor says death threats to mayoral hopeful was AI manipulation

A Clarington, Ont. councillor accused of threatening to “kill” a potential mayoral candidate in voicemail says that the message was partially generated by AI.

“I want to state clearly and unequivocally: I did not create this message,” Corinna Traill said in a news release. “I have been advised that artificial intelligence technology was involved. Portions of the voicemail were my voice, but other parts were artificially generated.”

The incident is currently under investigation by Peterborough Police which has yet to respond to Traill’s claim.

The councillor says she will “continue to fully cooperate with authorities so that the facts can be established.”

“It is important that residents have confidence in the outcome, and I share in the community’s desire for clarity and truth.”

The case stems from a complaint filed by Tom Dingwall, who is considering running for mayor in Clarington’s municipal election next year. Dingwall currently works for the Law Society of Ontario.

Last week, Dingwall played the voicemail to CTV News to verify its contents, but did not provide an audio recording, because the matter is currently under investigation.

The voicemail was linked to a number in his cell phone under the name Corinna Traill.

At the beginning of the 39 second message, heard by CTV News, the voice identifies herself as “Corinna Traill.”

“(She) told me that I need to stay out of next year’s election and that if I don’t, she will come to my house and kill me and sexually assault my wife,” said Dingwall, a former police officer, in an interview with on Friday.

In the expletive-laced message, the woman’s voice threatens Dingwall and his wife and urges him to support a rival candidate, Joe Neal.

On Monday, Dingwall told CTV News that Peterborough Police have yet to download the digital contents of the message from his phone but expect to do so shortly.

According to Traill’s personal website, she was first elected as a councillor for Clarington in 2010. Prior to that, she was a lawyer practicing human rights, employment and family law. As councillor, she has advocated for affordable housing for seniors and the LBGTQ community.

After CTV News left a message for the number associated with Traill on Dingwall’s phone, an associate of the councillor forwarded a statement over email.

In the email sent three days ago, Traill calls it an “unfortunate circumstance,” and says it would be “inappropriate to talk about it at this time.”

“I am doing what I can to work through it and I am looking forward to this being resolved,” Traill said.

Dingwall, a former homicide detective with Durham Regional Police, says the message he received on the afternoon of Aug. 28, frightened his wife and was so alarming he made the decision to report it to police.

“When people aren’t thinking rationally – they’re unpredictable, and unpredictable people, unfortunately, sometimes do stupid things. And I’m not prepared to take that type of risk with my family.”

Traill has served on council for the past 15 years. Clarington council will resume meetings today after the summer break.