Federal government plans to warn foreign ambassadors not to interfere in next election

The federal government plans to convene a meeting of foreign ambassadors next month to warn them not to interfere in the next election.

Testifying before the inquiry into foreign interference in Canada, David Morrison, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, said his department is preparing for the next federal election and wants to make sure that diplomats from other countries know where Canada draws the line between attempts to influence and attempts to interfere.

"I think we should, and will be, crystal clear with foreign missions here in town and their consulates throughout the country as to what we consider to be acceptable diplomatic activity and exactly where we draw the line," Morrison told the inquiry.

While it's a diplomat's job to influence people, Morrison said, it crosses the line into interference if the influence is coercive, clandestine or covert.

Morrison also told the inquiry that artificial intelligence-driven foreign interference is "a major threat vector" that he expects to see emerge in the next election.

Morrison said the problem of foreign interference targeting Canada is growing but still pales in comparison with what was seen during the Brexit referendum and the French election, and with the disinformation surrounding the current U.S. election.

Members of Parliament should get more information about how foreign diplomats operate and how they can tell when diplomatic behaviour crosses the line, Morrison said.

He said that when he was appointed acting national security adviser, he was asked to brief cabinet ministers following the 2021 election and warn them that there could be an increase in attempts by foreign countries to target them through diplomatic missions.

Friday's testimony also shed new light on some of the cases of foreign interference that have taken place in Canada in recent years.

In 2023, Canada declared Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei persona non grata following a media report that he had targeted Conservative MP Michael Chong. In the days following the report, Global Affairs received new information from CSIS dating back to 2021 regarding foreign interference activity by Zhao.

While the move was largely seen at the time as a response to the media report about Chong being targeted, Morrison said the department had been discussing declaring a Chinese diplomat — not necessarily Zhao — persona non grata for months.

He said the media report provided an opportunity to send a message to China and other countries engaging in foreign interference in Canada.

Responding to a question about China's interest in Canada's Arctic, GAC assistant deputy minister Alexandre Lévêque said the region is now a stage for geopolitical competition. Global Affairs is conducting a review of Canada's Arctic policy, which will be made public soon.

The foreign interference inquiry, headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, was set up following media reports which accused China of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

In her initial report, made public in May, Hogue found that while it was possible that foreign interference occurred in a small number of ridings, she concluded it did not affect the overall election results.

On Monday, the inquiry is expected to hear from officials in the Canadian Heritage department and security and intelligence officials from the Privy Council.