Today, the Government of Canada held its fifth briefing to media regarding the actions that it is taking to protect the general election from foreign interference.
These briefings are conducted under the direction of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol Panel (the Panel), and informed by the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force.
As part of its mandate to monitor the digital information ecosystem during the general election, the SITE Task Force has observed a transnational repression (TNR) operation targeting the general election.
The TNR operation is taking place on social media platforms where Chinese-speaking users in Canada are very active. This includes Facebook, WeChat, TikTok, RedNote, and Douyin, a sister-app of TikTok for the Chinese market.
The content of this operation features a mock "wanted poster", as well as disparaging headlines and comments, about Joe Tay, Conservative party candidate for Don Valley North. Mr. Tay is known for his opposition to PRC laws and practices in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is one of six individuals targeted with monetary bounties by Hong Kong Police in December 2024.
The images and videos have, together, received varying levels of engagement, and have been amplified on several platforms and Chinese-language news sites. While overall engagement levels since they peaked in December 2024 have been low, they have increased at various points during the writ period. The SITE Task Force has determined that certain activity shows signs of coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
The SITE Task Force has discussed this issue with social media platforms to inform them of the findings, and to raise our concerns. The SITE Task Force has also briefed the cleared representative of the Conservative Party about this information operation.
This is not about a single online act, but rather a series of acts designed to discredit a candidate, silence criticism and dissent, and manipulate information that informs voters.
Such online content may also be perceived as sending a wider warning to voters, who are well aware of malign actors' methods of transnational repression, and may avoid supporting their preferred candidate as a result (having signs on their property, providing donations, etc.). This behaviour is called transnational repression, and it will not be tolerated. All Canadians should be aware that there are safeguards in place to ensure everyone's vote is secret and secure, and that it is illegal to change a voter's ballot, or to break the secrecy of the vote.
Anyone receiving these types of threats, or encountering any form of TNR, is encouraged to report it to their local police, to the RCMP, or to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service at the numbers below. Electors who have been prevented from voting or who feel that they have been compelled to vote for a particular candidate as a result of intimidation or duress should also contact the Commissioner of Canada Elections and the SITE Task Force.
At this time, the Panel has determined that this activity is not affecting Canada's ability to have a free and fair election, including in this riding. However, given the combined instances and spread of the information operation to multiple platforms, it is important for voters to be aware of this type of activity, and to know that measures are in place to help support them.
This detection and public notice demonstrate that the measures in place to safeguard the 2025 General Election are working:
- Canada's national security agencies are working together to monitor and protect against all possible threats to Canada's democracy through the SITE Task Force;
- the Panel is being briefed regularly and is closely evaluating the information and intelligence provided by the SITE Task Force to determine whether incidents are impacting Canada's ability to have a free and fair election; and
- the Government of Canada is continuing to communicate regularly to the public about emerging issues that may have an impact.
The SITE Task Force will continue to monitor the digital information environment for foreign information manipulation, and to shine a light on foreign interference during Canada's 45th general election.
Canadians can rest assured that there are strong mechanisms in place to detect, deter, counter, and disrupt foreign interference.
