Photo: Adrian Wyld The Canadian Press Commissioner Mike Duheme (left) assures that none of the RCMP's partners provided him with information that would have justified the opening of such investigations. He is seen here next to Frederic Pincinc, International Investigations and the sensitive nature of the police force.
The Canadian Press in Ottawa
April 4, 2024
- Canada
The head of the RCMP says that the federal police did not open any criminal investigations related to foreign interference during the last two electoral campaigns, in 2019 and 2021.
The Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Mike Duheme, also assures that none of the partners of the federal police have sent him information which would have justified the opening of such criminal investigations.
However, the RCMP opened investigations after the 2021 general election, including one following allegations by Conservative MP Michael Chong that he was the target of foreign interference.
Mr. Duheme made these details during an interview given last February to members of the federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference in electoral processes and federal democratic institutions.
Also read
- RCMP investigating allegations of foreign interference against three MPs
- Chinese interference, a problem that dates back almost 40 years
- What to expect from the foreign interference investigation ?
- Editorial | Allow time for investigation into foreign interference
A summary of this interview was presented Thursday at the commission's public hearings.
The federal investigation, chaired by Judge Marie-Josée Hogue, of the Quebec Court of Appeal, aims in particular to identify possible foreign interference from China, India, Russia or other countries during the last two federal general elections.