A recent report by a federal security task force revealed that foreign interference activities during the previous general election were described as “small scale” and often challenging to attribute to an overseas actor. The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, comprising representatives from Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the RCMP, and Canada’s cyberspy agency, the Communications Security Establishment, was responsible for assessing these threats.
During the election campaign, a group of senior bureaucrats had the authority, under a federal protocol, to alert the public if any incidents jeopardized Canada’s ability to conduct a fair and free vote. However, no such warnings were issued during the 2025 campaign, which culminated in the election of a minority Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The task force provided regular updates to the “panel of five,” consisting of key officials like the clerk of the Privy Council, the national security and intelligence adviser, and deputy ministers of public safety and foreign affairs. In a recent “after-action report,” the task force highlighted transnational repression efforts, especially by China, which aimed to promote conflicting narratives about political candidates on various Chinese-speaking social media platforms in Canada.
Moreover, the report mentioned Russia’s attempts to engage in foreign information manipulation and interference activities online. The task force also observed instances where politicians’ names and images were exploited to endorse cryptocurrency and financial scams. The task force briefed the panel on these incidents and took necessary actions as directed.
The report emphasized the importance of maintaining electoral integrity throughout the democratic governance process. As Canada prepares for future elections, the insights from the last election will guide efforts to safeguard and uphold democratic principles in an increasingly complex landscape.