Former MP says Canada has become 'open market' for foreign interference in elections

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Richmond — A former British Columbia member of Parliament says he fears Canada has become an "open market" for foreign governments to sway elections after being named in a newspaper report as the target of an alleged campaign by Chinese diplomats to defeat him.

Kenny Chiu, a Conservative who lost his seat of Steveston-Richmond East in the 2021 election, says he's not surprised by the report in the Globe and Mail citing Canadian intelligence documents and describing alleged efforts to oust candidates seen as unfriendly to Beijing.

Chiu, who has previously said he was targeted by pre-election misinformation on Chinese-language social media, says there's been a lack of action from Ottawa on foreign interests operating in Canadian politics.

He says he's "gravely concerned" about Canada's national security situation and the ability of "predatorial regimes" such as China, Russia and Iran to influence votes here.

Chiu says he's frustrated that more isn't being done to counter foreign interference in Canadian elections.

The Globe and Mail report says Canadian Security Intelligence Service documents describe then-Chinese consul-general in Vancouver Tong Xiaoling boasting about a strategy that led to the defeat of two Conservative MPs in 2021.

Chiu and then-Richmond Centre MP Alice Wong, also a Conservative, both lost their seats in 2021 after suffering large drops in vote share.

Richmond has a large population of Chinese immigrants.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2023.