Final report of foreign interference inquiry set to be released today

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OTTAWA — Canada’s public inquiry into foreign election interference will unveil its final report today, as the country deals with the fallout from several high-profile cases of meddling from abroad.

The report follows testimony in October from the highest levels of Canadian government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of Parliament, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Global Affairs Canada and senior officials from the Privy Council Office.

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Trudeau’s testimony sparked a furious war of words when he told the inquiry he had the names “of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians and/or candidates” within the Conservative party who intelligence shows “are engaged, or at high risk” of foreign interference.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Trudeau of “lying” and dared him to release the identities of the unnamed parliamentarians who had engaged in “‘semi-witting or witting’ participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.”

In May 2024, an initial report was released, which was part of the commission’s first phase. According to Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, there was evidence of foreign interference.

“Acts of foreign interference did occur during the last two federal general elections, but they did not undermine the integrity of our electoral system,” she said.

The Foreign Interference Commission was established in September 2023 to look into the impact that foreign actors, such as China, Russia or others, may have had on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, according to the commission.

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“The Commission also examined and assessed the flow of information within the federal government in relation to these issues, and evaluated the actions taken in response,” it said.

The final report was initially expected to be released on Dec. 31, 2024. However, that date was pushed back.

In a statement last week, the commission said the report would be available on Tuesday morning.

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