China may have influenced local and federal political leadership races in Canada— and it's only a matter of time before the Communist country does the same to the U.S.
According to a classified report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), an unspecified leadership candidate for a provincial political party met with Chinese agents at a Chinese consulate in 2022 to secure their support.
The top secret document refers to the candidate as "CA3". It details how an Oct. 31, 2022, CSIS "Intelligence Assessment" explored how communist Chinese agents are used to influence leaders of Canadian political parties at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.
The Bureau's Sam Cooper argues that the candidate in question must have been running for either the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) or the Alberta United Conservative Party (UCP), given that both parties had leadership races during that timeframe.
However, the BC NDP and the Alberta UCP denied allegations that a candidate met with Chinese counterparts.
BC Premier David Eby once criticized China's lust for Vancouver's real state. However, he later apologized for his comments after the Chinese-language publication Rise Media published an article by TV broadcaster Ding Guo, who endorsed Eby.
Cooper argues that the CSIS document suggests that the CCP has tried to exercise financial influence on the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race. It also believes China and other states hostile to Canada use diaspora communities to influence elections at all levels of government.
The Bureau's investigation of the CSIS allegations exposes concerns about Chinese interference in Canadian elections. It has revealed several gaps in Ottawa's current foreign interference inquiry, which mandated Justice Marie-Josée Hogue to examine Canada's 2019 and 2021 federal elections, not provincial or municipal ones.
The BC reportedly has a sizeable Chinese-Canadian community. The outlet notes that the Communist country has operated "police stations" in Canadian cities that target Chinese dissidents and critics of the communist state, which the CSIS calls the offices an "arsenal of interference."
This prompts questions as to whether the U.S. should be worried that the CCP will infiltrate our elections, given that so many Democrat politicians owe their lives to China.
Republicans have argued that President Joe Biden makes the U.S. look weak on the global stage, considering the shady business dealings he and his family have made in China.
Earlier this year, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla) attacked Biden for refusing to stand up to China, letting the country walk all over the U.S.
"All that Biden does is pacify China," Scott said. "I don't know what it is, but this is a guy who won't stand up to dictators around the world," arguing that Biden walks on eggshells regarding his relationship with China.
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