CCP election interference campaign boosted Carney as “rockstar” candidate

The task force dedicated to securing Canada’s elections from foreign interference announced it has detected a coordinated campaign by a CCP-backed news channel to promote coverage of Mark Carney.

Source: X

The task force dedicated to securing Canada’s elections from foreign interference announced it has detected a coordinated campaign by a Chinese Communist Party-backed news channel to promote coverage of Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

Amplified coverage of Carney includes posts identifying him as a “rockstar” and highlighting his pro-China views.

On Monday, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force revealed it had “detected” that a state-backed Chinese WeChat news platform has been attempting to “influence” the Chinese diaspora’s views of Carney. Attempts included “amplifying” his “experience and credentials.”

“The information operation was launched by Youli-Youmian, WeChat’s most popular news account. Intelligence reporting links Youli-Youmian to the Chinese Communist Party Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission,” said Laurie-Anne Kempton, assistant secretary for Privy Council Office communications during a press conference Monday.

“The content of this information contains stories about Prime Minister and Liberal Party of Canada Leader and candidate in Nepean, Mark Carney. This content has been amplified in a coordinated and inauthentic way.”

The task force included links to Youli-Youmian, which saw the publication referring to Carney as a “tough prime minister” to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, a “rockstar economist” and that he plans to deepen “economic and trade cooperation with China” as the first “technocratic” prime minister in Canadian history.

“In the next month, Canadian voters will use their votes to decide the direction of the plot of this political farce starring Trump and in which Carney is forced to take part – whether to let Carney continue to “fight Trump hard” or let Poilievre try to “fight poison with poison,” writes Youli-Youmian.

According to Kempton, the Chinese-state influence operation first amplified Carney’s “stance with the United States” and then boosted “his experience and credentials.”

The Chinese state-backed news account, Youli-Youmian, has a history of targeting members of Parliament in the past, including Michael Chong in 2023 and more recently Chrystia Freeland during the Liberal leadership race in January. WeChat is a popular Chinese-language messaging platform used worldwide by over 1.3 billion people.

Chinese dissident groups have raised the alarm about foreign interference in Canada’s latest election.

“The Task Force’s findings are highly concerning. Foreign influence operations, no matter the intended target or beneficiary, fundamentally undermine the integrity of Canada’s democratic elections, and go hand in hand with transnational repression against political figures critical of the CCP,” Thomas Benson with Hong Kong Watch told True North.

“The Canadian government must be vigilant about the threat posed by these attempts to influence political narratives in the run-up to the federal election on April 28th.”

While the task force did not explicitly say what the intention behind China’s fixation on Carney was, the Liberal leader has had nothing but positive things to say about the country and its communist government.

The news organization also praised Carney’s work as the former Bank of England governor, during which time he made several trips to Beijing, which led to investments in green technologies to achieve zero-carbon transport, market reform, and allowing foreign companies to operate in each other’s countries.

Carney also recently defended former Liberal MP Paul Chiang after he suggested the kidnapping of a Conservative opponent to collect a bounty from the communist Chinese government, calling it a “teachable moment” after he apologized.

During his time in the private sector, Carney also allegedly secured a $250 million loan from a Chinese state-owned bank for Brookfield Asset Management as chair of the company up until winning the Liberal leadership race in February.

“One of the many strengths of China is their perspective,” said Carney while speaking at the Toronto Board of Trade in 2016, where he praised the virtues and profit opportunities for investors to invest in China’s “green” capital market. “It’s an ambitious Chinese leadership,” he said.

“Intelligence reporting links the Youli-Youmian account to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLAC),” reads a statement from the Privy Council Office released Monday.

The task force assessed that the “foreign state-backed operation” intended to influence Chinese-Canadian communities received considerable engagement, with “85,000-130,000 engagements and an estimate of 1 to 3 million views.”

The most engagement occurred between March 10 and March 25 and the Liberal party was informed of the issue on April 6.

“Malign behaviour from the Youli-Youmian account was first identified by Rapid Response Mechanism Canada (RRM Canada) at Global Affairs Canada during federal by-elections taking place in June 2023,” said the PCO.

“During that period, analysts noted that the popular WeChat account had targeted Mr. Michael Chong, CPC MP for the Wellington-Halton Hills riding at the time, with false narratives.”

Chong responded to the PCO’s latest findings with little surprise.

“Once again, Beijing is interfering in our democracy, this time trying to shape opinion in favour of Carney,” said Chong in a social media post. “After a decade of foreign interference, it’s time for a new government who will stand up to it. It’s time for a Conservative government.”

Conservative MP Michelle Remple-Garner called the task force’s analysis “hugely concerning, saying that “the communist regime in Beijing is trying to help Mark Carney.”