2020 intel warned Trudeau government that Chinas interference in elections likely to be pervasive

An unredacted 2020 national security document alleges that Beijing used an extensive network of community groups to conceal the flow of funds between Chinese officials and Canadian members of an election interference network, all in an effort to advance its own political agenda in the 2019 federal contest. The Privy Council Office document, which Global News has reviewed, is a distillation of sensitive investigations and was published in February 2020, around four months after the 2019 election. It warned that influence operations such as these were “likely to be more persistent and pervasive in future elections.” According to the document, community leaders and “co-opted” political staffers “under broad guidance” from the Toronto consulate serve as intermediaries between Chinese officials and the politicians Beijing was seeking to influence. The outcome of these operations, the document says, is that “staff of targeted politicians provide advice on China-related issues” to the Chinese