A loophole in campaign finance rules could allow foreign money to influence Canadian elections, the chief electoral commissioner told a committee of inquiry looking into foreign interference on Tuesday.
Stephane Perrault pointed out that, by law, only citizens and permanent residents can donate to political parties and candidates, and donations must come from personal funds. Foreigners, organisations and governments are not allowed to donate.
But Perot said policing can be difficult and no system is perfect.
He said Elections Canada audits candidates’ filings and publishes the names of people who donate more than $200, meaning someone outside Canada would have to use a proxy to funnel money to a candidate.
“We don’t have the information to be able to vet whether all donors are Canadian citizens or permanent residents,” he said.
Perot also suggested some of the cash donations may exceed the limit.
“Cash donations over $20 are illegal. But that doesn’t mean donations won’t be made.”
Perot said another concern was spending by third parties, because current rules allow third parties to receive foreign money outside of election periods, pool it and spend it during election periods.
“When they spend this money, they’re spending their own funds,” Perot said.
“This could allow a certain amount of illicit funds to be funneled to third-party expenditures during election periods.”
He said there were increasing cases of third parties declaring that they had used their own funds to support candidates or political parties.
Perot’s comments reflect the findings of a March 2023 summary on foreign interference threats presented to the investigative committee on Tuesday.
The report said hostile nations are influencing Canadian elections by “covertly supporting” individuals they believe support “foreign interests” and opposing those who do not.
“To achieve our goals, [they] They exploit loopholes in party nomination processes, engage in fundraising activities, mobilize and leverage community groups, and manipulate the media.”
The list has been redacted, but the countries it cited as engaging in foreign interference include China, India, Russia, Pakistan and Iran.
AI and Deepfakes
Perot told the committee he is working on proposals to improve oversight of nomination and leadership elections and hopes to present recommendations to the committee and Congress within the next few weeks.
Perrault said another concern ahead of the next federal election is the potentially disruptive power of artificial intelligence and deepfakes. He said Elections Canada is watching what happens in other elections, such as in the United States, to consider how it can combat such efforts.
Earlier in the day, the committee heard from House and Senate officials who oversee congressional security and cybersecurity.
Capitol Police Chief Pat McDonnell said some people hoping to work at the Capitol were unable to pass security checks due to concerns about foreign interference.
“He has denied several charges over the past 10 years, two of which are from the past six months,” Mr McDonnell told the inquiry.
McDonnell did not say whether the unsuccessful candidates had applied for jobs in the House of Commons office or to work as political staff for an MP, but he did point to one case involving someone who wanted to work for an MP.
McDonnell said that if the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Canadian Centre for Information Sciences have doubts about a candidate, staff will conduct separate “question-resolving” interviews. The House of Commons conducted just 10 such interviews in 2019, up from 128 in 2023.
McDonnell also outlined some of the steps the House of Commons is taking to protect its members, noting that threats against MPs are a common occurrence.
But both House and Senate officials said lawmakers are not always informed about the cyberattacks, adding that most are not successful.
The foreign interference inquiry, led by Judge Marie-Josee Hogue, was set up in response to media reports accusing China of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
In his first report, released in May, Hogue concluded that there may have been foreign interference in a small number of precincts but that it did not affect the overall election outcome.
