Justin and PMO Never Lost Much Sleep Over Threats of Chinese Political Interference

Patrick Gossage • April 22, 2024

The rather dismissive attitude shown by the Prime Minister and his staff towards Chinese interference in our democracy at their appearance before the ongoing public inquiry at least is consistent with his dismissive attitude over the years. Fourteen years ago the warnings by of the then new head of CSIS Richard Fadden were ignored.

In a speech and then a CBC interview Fadden alerted that China was aggressively recruiting allies through universities, “funding university clubs that are managed by people operating out of the embassy or consulates.” Chinese authorities also organize demonstrations against the Canadian government in respect to some of Canada's policies concerning China”, Fadden said.


Threats have been in the wind for many years. In 2019, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, an oversight body of MPs and Senators reported that Canada was “vulnerable to foreign actors seeking to interfere with its political and economic processes.” A year later, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned that Beijing’s military and intelligence services were also intimidating and threatening critics in Chinese immigrant populations.


Then on Global on November 7 2022 – Sam Cooper on Global made a sensational charge The PRC Gave $250,000 to 11 Political Candidates for the 2019 Election.


In 2023 and Cooper, and Robert Fife of the Globe and Mail were major players in giving Chinese interference major public profile thanks to leaks from CSIS.


The groundbreaking Fife story appeared on Feb. 17, 2023: headlined, CSIS documents reveal Chinese strategy to influence 2021 election “China employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada’s democracy in the 2021 federal election campaign as Chinese diplomats and their proxies

backed the re-election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing.” It detailed that China employed disinformation campaigns and proxies connected to Chinese-Canadian organizations in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area, which have large mainland Chinese immigrant communities, to voice opposition to the Conservatives and favour the Trudeau Liberals. In several subsequent articles it even exposed the Trudeau Foundation funding activities of a Chinese businessman. Trudeau was quite dismissive, his security advisor quoted as later saying we will find the leaker.


The Globe’s findings did provoke action by the government when the story of a much-respected Conservative MP surfaced. Foreign Affairs Minister Joly expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei after The Globe reported Beijing targeted Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong to gain leverage over the MP. Mr. Chong had upset China by sponsoring a parliamentary motion to condemn China’s repression of Uyghurs. The Opposition demanded an Inquiry which was forestalled by Trudeau appointing former Governor General David Johnston as special adviser to him on foreign interference. He tabled his report in June 2023. He simultaneously resigned amidst Opposition outcries about his close ties to the PM. Responding to intense pressure, On September 7, 2023 the Government of Canada established the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions. Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal, was appointed Commissioner.


The Prime Minister’s recent performance as witness to the Inquiry was a textbook on deniability, that secure protection often sought by leaders who do not want to be forced to take positions they do not agree with – in this case that foreign interference is a major problem. His staff provided him a perfect out. Jeremy Broadhurst, who had been briefing the PM on national security said flatly that a warning CSIS briefing memo tabled at the inquiry in February 2023 had not been seen by the PM and that he had never read this kind of note.


It’s tabling made news earlier because of its strong language: "We know the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections. In both cases, [foreign interference ... was] pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either

'pro-PRC' or 'neutral' on issues of interest to the PRC government."


The CSIS document warns that protecting Canadian democratic institutions against foreign interference "will require a shift in the government's perspective and a willingness to take decisive action and impose consequences on perpetrators." It said foreign interference

will persist until it "is viewed as an existential threat to Canadian democracy and governments should forcefully and actively respond."


In his own testimony the next day Trudeau denied any knowledge of the note. In fact he went on to make an extraordinary statement that he does not read all intelligence briefings but relies on his staff to tell him what is important. Clearly he did not want to endorse CSIS’s call to be more

forceful in responding to allegations of interference. The next day in a scrum he said he did read all briefing notes! So is our Prime Minister simply skeptical of the work of our intelligence agency and in fact taking the advice of experts like their retired Fadden himself who said on CBC”s Power

and Politics to remember that “intelligence is not evidence”. Trudeau later said it was his job to question intelligence. He did earlier and was unconvinced when briefed that Don Valley North MP Han Dong at his nominating convention had bused in students allegedly “paid by the Chinese.” Not proven the PM decided. One thinks back to the US intelligence claiming the discovery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq

which proved wrong. WMD remained a key justification for the second gulf war.


This is not to say that Chinese interference in particular is not present. Several members of the diaspora made dramatic statements at the inquiry of the threats and harassment by Chinese agents they had experienced. These stories had been well covered by the media. Little sympathy

was forthcoming from the government, except in the case of Chong.


So, are there valid ways to control foreign influence? Kenny Chiu, former Conservative MP for the British Columbia riding of Steveston—Richmond East introduced a private members bill to establish the Foreign Influence Registry in November 2021. It would require people to log any activities

undertaken in Canada on behalf of a foreign state. Failing to do so would bring penalties, including prison time. It languished and we’ll see if the idea will surface in the Inquiry’s report.


The registry is frequently seen as a minimum way of controlling foreign influence in Canada. The threat, as we have seen, had been long standing.

Some time ago, the US human rights group Safeguard Defender identified scores of Chinese “police stations” around the world, including in Canada. It alleges they were being used to “harass, threaten, intimidate and force targets to return to China for persecution.” The American

registry—in place since 1938 enabled Federal Bureau of Investigation to lay charges.


In Canada, where secret stations were identified in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Trudeau said that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was “following up on it.” Chiu’s bill went nowhere and we will see if the registry idea resurfaces in the inquiry.


In the end we are left with Trudeau’s oft repeated blanket denial that foreign influence had any impact on the last two elections. “Nothing we have seen and heard despite, yes, attempts by foreign states to interfere, those elections held in their integrity. They were decided by Canadians,” This appears to be his prime motivator for inaction after years of revelations.


Patrick Gossage Insider Political Views

Immigration – Too much of a Good Thing

By Patrick Gossage • September 17, 2025
Welcoming newcomers, especially those fleeing wars, has been a widely accepted Canadian virtue. Now, after 25 years of a very open door. there is increasing evidence that we have too much of a good thing. And admittedly, it has been pre-PM Carney Liberal policies which have us in this situation. Where we are now was exemplified by PM Carney recently at the caucus retreat in Edmonton where said recent levels have not been "sustainable" and a more "focused" approach is required. "It's clear that we must improve our overall immigration policies," he said. It had been easy to be caught up in Justin Trudeau’s unabashed enthusiasm for high immigration levels exemplified by his warm personal welcome of the first Syrian refugees in December, 2015. On the fifth anniversary of his memorable event he happily announced: “In the years since, the Government of Canada has worked closely with Canadians, the business community, and civil society to resettle nearly 73,000 Syrian refugees in more than 350 communities across the country.” Few questioned our generosity and thousands of ordinary Canadians sponsored families. But opening our doors wide soon got out of control. In 2021, more than 8.3 million people, or almost one-quarter (23.0%) of the population, were, or had been, a landed immigrant. Canada’s population grew from 38 million to 41.5 million, representing the highest annual population growth rate since the post-war boom of 1957. Immigration now accounts for virtually all of Canada’s net labour force growth. It then became of public concern that temporary residents, including record numbers of temporary workers and foreign students accounted for 3 million of that number. In total, since 2015 we admitted 15 million temporary foreign workers in agriculture, hospitality and some manufacturing and processing jobs. They were seen to be exploited with lower wages and few rights. Foreign students with limits on hours they could work swelled these huge numbers. Inevitably, public support for high immigration levels dramatically flipped, where 58% of Canadians now believe there are too many immigrants being admitted to Canada. An Environics Poll in 2024 showed that f or the first time in a quarter century, a clear majority of Canadians say there is too much immigration, with this view strengthening considerably for the second consecutive year . Canadians’ express concerns about the arrival of so many newcomers contributing to the country’s problems with housing availability and affordability; this view is much more prominent than a year ago. Immigrants placing pressure on public finances, taking jobs from other Canadians, over-population, and insufficient screening are less prominent. Along with rising concerns about immigration levels, an increasing number of Canadians are expressing doubts about who is being admitted to the country and how well they are integrating into Canadian society. The new Carney government took action, gradually reducing permanent resident admissions to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027; introducing caps for temporary residents, including students and workers at 673,650 in 2025, a notable decrease in new international student admissions with only 163,000 new study permits projected for early 2025. This has led to serious financial shortfalls in many post-secondary institutions. There will be a decline in the overall Canadian population in 2025 and 2026 due to the projected outflows of temporary residents.The number of new temporary residents arriving in the country — made up of international students, foreign workers and refugee claimants — declined in the first six months of 2025, compared to the same period last year. These immigration statistics have been closely watched, with critics arguing the Liberal government’s high immigration intake has contributed to Canada’s runaway population growth and is straining the housing market and health-care system. In response, the government slashed the 2025 intakes of new permanent residents by 21 per cent to 395,000; new study permit holders by 10 per cent to 305,900; and new work permit holders by 16 per cent to 367,750. Accommodating the needs of refugees for resettlement and shelter has become a major issue and embarrassment. In the summer of 2023 many asylum seekers in Toronto ended up sleeping on the street. What a way to welcome them to Canada! Since September 2021, the number of refugee claimants housed in Toronto shelters has increased more than tenfold, from 530 per night to a peak of almost 6,500 per night by August 2024. Recently there were about 3,500 refugee claimants in the system, about 40 per cent of all clients. The mayor recently wrote a letter warning that Carney’s government had agreed to cover only 26 per cent of Toronto’s estimated costs for housing asylum seekers in its shelter system this year. Refugees are a federal responsibility, yet reduction in federal support leaves the municipality $107 million short. We still welcome asylum claimants unreservedly. From January-June 2015 over 57,000. The leader of the Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, is now determined to make immigration a major political issue. He is calling for a tougher stance, saying he wants to see "very hard caps" on the number of newcomers allowed into the country. Poilievre says the country has struggled to integrate newcomers and he wants to see more people leaving than coming in "while we catch up." "We have millions of people whose permits will expire over the next couple of years, and many of them will leave," he said. "We need more people leaving than coming for the next couple of years. He would scrap the Temporary Foreign workers program altogether. BC Premier David Eby also calls for the end of Canada's temporary foreign worker program — blaming Ottawa's flawed immigration policies for filling up homeless shelters and food banks. "The temporary foreign worker program is not working. It should be cancelled or significantly reformed," Eby said. "We can't have an immigration system that fills up our homeless shelters and our food banks. We can't have an immigration system that outpaces our ability to build schools and housing. And we can't have an immigration program that results in high youth unemployment,“ Despite these concerns, there is a bedrock of strong support for immigration which was manifested recently in Torontonians where over 150 teachers,.labour union members and families organized a noisy counter demonstration against about 50 right wing flag waving Canada Fist anti-immigrant demonstrators. They chanted “there is no space for hate at Christie Pits”, the site of the clash which led to many arrests. Torontonians enjoy the benefits of living, the world’s most multicultural city with its amazing variety of foods and cultures, and daily evidence from immigrants that their children are doing very well, thank you. But we await the end of the hopelessness that is apparently part of the lives of so many new arrivals, particularly refugees, and the needless exploitation of many other newcomers in menial and low paying jobs..

Deciphering the Canada/US tariff wars

By Patrick Gossage • August 12, 2025
1. Negatives - The sad truth about missing the August 1 deadline: Trump on July 31, 2025: ”We haven’t spoken to Canada today. He’s called.” Carney could not get through! Obviously, the President of Mexico did and got a 90 day reprieve. He may speak with Carney this week but clearly the PM’s relationship isn’t what we thought. Trump:: ”(Canda} has been very poorly led….Canda has treated US farmers “very badly” (our apparently untouchable dairy and poultry supply management regime remains a major irritant.). He still believes there is a “huge flow of fentanyl from Canada to the US that has to be stopped.” Trump said earlier he hasn’t “had “a lot of luck with Canada,” and reaching a deal wasn’t a priority for his administration. In addition, Trump intensified his trade war with Canada with A35% tariff just ahead of the August 1 deadline for an agreement, saying it would be "very hard" to make a deal with Canada after it gave its support to Palestinian statehood. “ Ford among others has called all along for a tougher approach and dollar for dollar reciprocal tariffs on US goods coming to Canda – which the White House dislikes claiming only Canada and China are imposing these tariffs. A recent Angus Reid poll suggests the proportion of those advising the PM and his team to “play hardball” has increased, from 63 to 69 per cent of the population compared to mid-July. Recently Carney has prepared us to accept there will be no deal without tariffs. In March he predicted “It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back,” On August 5 he said the focus now will be to preserve and reinforce CUSMA ahead of next year’s negotiations, adding “There’s a bigger picture there. Sounds like buying time? One journalist’s – Matt Guerny’sjudgment on Carney’s performance: “…the central conceit of the federal election three months ago was that we faced an unprecedented crisis requiring an unprecedented response…The Liberals made the case — and voters agreed — that Carney was the man to lead Canada’s emergency effort….But I will blame Carney for not doing the things that he can do, as fast as he can do them, and that very much includes moving fast enough to harden this country so that we can better withstand geopolitical and economic threats … threats like an erratic and unpredictable U.S. president.”. 2. Positives Government’s plan B: Carney - “Canada, we are in charge of our future. We can build a strong economy that doesn't depend on the United States. We can be masters in our own house.” Bill C5 envisions huge national infrastructure projects: “It’s time to unite this country and invest in nation-building infrastructure on a scale not seen in generations. Major nation-building projects will connect Canada and grow the economy in ways that last for generations, such as the Port of Churchill, hydrogen production in Edmonton, seizing vast solar potential in Cowessess, high-speed rail that starts with Windsor to Québec City, and a trade corridor to Grays Bay in Nunavut, amongst others.” However, we are still wiring for a major project to be green lit under the Build Canada Act. 50% Steel and Aluminum tariffs backfiring: GM and Ford announced billion-dollar losses and Ford’s best-selling aluminum body F150 pickup severely affected by aluminum tariffs. This noted by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bissent: “We will be negotiating with Canada on those.” Canadians deciding to not travel to US -and US alcohol being taken off Liquor Board shelves in provinces (except Sask and Alberta having an impact. This is "worse than tariffs", the boss of Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman says. Statistics Canada reporting a "steep decline" in Canadian travel to the U.S., particularly by land, and a -notable, drop in air travel. Big US coverage of impact on business in affected states. Leverage of Canadian rare earths and energy: Canada is a major energy exporter to the United States, particularly for oil, natural gas, and electricity. Canada supplies a significant portion of the US's crude oil, natural gas, and electricity imports. Specifically, Canada provides 60% of the crude oil and close to 100% of the natural gas imported by the U.S. Additionally, Canada supplies 85% of the electricity imported by the U.S. Canadian reciprocal counter tariffs: On March 3 2025 Trudeau announced a slew of retaliatory tariffs on US consumer and other goods entering Canada: Outlining the tiny amounts of Fentanyl crossing the border and investments in enhancing border security, he added : “Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered. Should American tariffs come into effect tonight, Canada will, effective tomorrow, respond with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion of American goods – starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time. Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn.” August 4 th Carney said he may consider removing some. They have had an immediate impact on Canadian households. Tariffs hitting US consumers Proctor and Gamble announced last week it would raise prices on a wide range of consumer goods. Other manufacturers, from Porsche to Nestle to Adidas have announced the same thing. As have Walmart and Amazon which has raised prices on over 1200 items. Andrew Coyne on one sector Trump cannot control: “The Markets may be nevertheless prove to be Mr. Trump’s most implacable opponents.”
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