Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denied seeing an alleged report that claimed up to eleven candidates in the last federal election may have received money from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Prime Minister Trudeau has denied that he was ever briefed on allegations that the CCP funded candidates in the 2019 election, making his statement on the matter at the Francophonie Summit in Tunisia over the weekend.
“Let me be clear, I do not have any information, nor have I been briefed on any federal candidates receiving any money from China,” the Canadian Prime Minister said, broadcaster CBC reports.
The statement comes after a report from earlier this month by Canadian broadcaster Global News which claimed Trudeau had been briefed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on attempts by the CCP to influence Canadian politics, including funnelling cash to candidates in the 2019 election.
The allegations also claimed that the CCP “interference network” had been involved both in Trudeau’s Liberal Party and in the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).
Around $250,000 is said to have been transferred from the Chinese consulate in Toronto by a member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament and a staff member of a federal election candidate to both federal election candidates and campaign staff.
Following the allegations, the Canadian parliament supported a motion to probe foreign interference by China as part of an ongoing study into the phenomenon.
“I have asked the officials to examine these media reports and give all possible answers, everything they can, to the parliamentary committee that’s looking into this,” Trudeau stated this weekend.
Canada’s relations with China have come into the spotlight over the last few months after reports that China had opened clandestine police stations in Canada that are allegedly used to “persuade” Chinese nationals to return to China after they are accused of breaking Chinese laws.
China, however, has maintained that the stations were actually set up to help Chinese nationals renew government documents, such as identification and driving licenses.