A decade before the NSICOP 2024 revelations of Chinese political interference, Ottawa was warned of a broad PRC strategy to cultivate as well as target Canadian politicians ahead of elections.

Exclusive: By The Bureau

A leaked 2014 intelligence document from Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned that China was orchestrating a broad strategy to cultivate Canadian politicians at every level ahead of various elections, relying on community leaders as intermediaries. The classified CSIS report—marked “SECRET/CanadianEyesOnly”—details how Chinese Embassy officials in Ottawa tasked diaspora figures to target specific Canadian politicians, including a sitting Senator and a Member of Parliament, inviting them to a high-profile Chinese New Year banquet in 2015.

Summary

Canadian security officials have long voiced concerns over foreign interference, but a leaked 2014 CSIS document made it clear that China was laying the groundwork to expand its influence from Canada’s seat of federal power. Unlike other leaked intelligence that focused on Chinese election interference in Vancouver and Toronto, this report centered on Ottawa, indicating a strategic focus on influencing elite bureaucrats and federal politicians.

The document warned of “a ‘new strategy’ to invite as many city, provincial, and federal politicians as possible to an event in the run-up to various elections, aiming to ‘make a lot of noise’ and submit demands to those politicians in exchange for community support.” CSIS noted there was no further information on the specific event to which the politicians would be invited.

Despite these warnings nearly a decade ago, the issue resurfaced prominently with the 2024 National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report. NSICOP, established in 2017 to review sensitive intelligence and security matters, concluded in its 2024 review that some Canadian MPs had been “semi-witting or witting” participants in foreign interference efforts. This echoed the concerns raised in the 2014 CSIS alert, indicating that Chinese officials were using community events and diplomatic receptions to cultivate relationships with Canadian political figures.

The 2014 report specifically references the upcoming visit of Li Jianguo, then Vice Chair of the National People’s Congress (NPC), describing how PRC Embassy officials instructed community representatives to mobilize a significant turnout for his event in Ottawa. This further illustrates the strategic and persistent nature of China’s influence operations in Canada.

Read the report in full at the publisher’s website here.