Rivers on Foreign Interference

By Ray Rivers

March 26^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

The premier of Alberta, washing her dirty political laundry before US right wing podcaster Breitbart, was bad enough.  But what she really meant by her comments may have been worse.  Was she telling the US president that his tariff threats might prevent her guy in Canada’s federal election from becoming the governor of Trump’s planned 51st state?

Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith

“Offensive and wrong” was how Danielle Smith, in full Trumpian fashion, responded to allegations of foreign interference.  And indeed, this would only be something like foreign interference if her plea to Mr. Trump is answered.  So we’ll see how the American president responds come April 2nd, when the 25% blanket tariff is supposed to kick in.

And we’ll see whether the unofficial leader of the Alberta separatist movement has the political capital to sway that big fellow in the White House.  After all, she has spent enough time in DC talking to the movers and shakers in his administration – and taking all those selfies with Donald and Kevin O’Leary.   By the way, O’Leary, the nasty Dragons Den investor, comes off sounding like the 51st state was really his idea before Trump made it his own.

Of course even if Trump decides to delay the tariffs, as Smith has asked, this would not mark the first time foreigners have tried to meddle in our politics.  Big powers with a significant emigre base seem to find Canada a suitable target.  China has its hands dirty from the mild – paying cash for access – to more serious – sponsoring their preferred candidates for office.  They typically picked on the Liberals, likely thinking Trudeau would be an easy mark.

Conservative MP Michael Chong

But Conservative MP Michael Chong also felt the ire of the Chinese government when he voted to condemn Beijing’s genocide of the Uyghur minority.  He was barred entry to China and became the object of threats and an intimidation campaign against his family back home.  Pursuant to a 2023 CSIS report, a parliamentary committee concluded that the Chinese government interfered in the 2019 and 2021 elections.

There is also a civil war being played out in Canada between the Sikh and mainstream Indian communities here.  And one of the battles is taking place within the ranks of the Conservative Party of Canada.   Patrick Brown, former Ontario  PC leader and mayor of Brampton used to be adored by Indian PM Modi.  But his support among local the Sikh population has made him anathema to the Indian leader.

So when he ran for leader of the federal Conservatives, Indian agents operating in this country apparently did their best to sabotage his campaign and throw money and support into the waiting hands of Pierre Poilievre’s supporters.  CSIS couldn’t find a smoking gun though, and Poilievre has taken the ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ defence.  So he and his entourage may not have been aware, as incredible as that sounds.

Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre

And who knows whether this Indian affair had something to do with Mr. Poilievre’s refusal to get a top secret clearance.  Its unfathomable how someone who is planning to run the country won’t be able to receive national security briefings.  For example, how would he know if someone in Alberta had contacted a foreign enemy to get them to influence the outcome of a Canadian election?

Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor, writes regularly applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking.  Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington.  He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject.   Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa.  Tweet @rayzrivers

Background links:

Danielle Smith –     O’Leary –     Chinese Interference –    More Chinese Interference –    Indian Interference –    Patrick Brown –