The president and the board of directors of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation have resigned, blaming the fallout from a donation the organization received which had ties to the Chinese government.
“In recent weeks, the political climate surrounding a donation received by the Foundation in 2016 has put a great deal of pressure on the Foundation’s management and volunteer Board of Directors, as well as on our staff and our community,” the foundation wrote in a statement.
“The circumstances created by the politicization of the Foundation have made it impossible to continue with the status quo, and the volunteer Board of Directors has resigned, as has the President and CEO.”
Three directors will be remaining on an interim basis so the Foundation can continue its work while finding replacements, the statement said.
Last month, the Globe and Mail leaked CSIS documents revealing that a wealthy Chinese businessman and adviser to the Chinese government made a donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation worth $200,000 in 2016.
The foundation returned the donation when it became public in 2023.
The documents also revealed the Chinese regime’s favoured election outcome to be another Trudeau minority government term.
The leaks also implicated 11 candidates who benefited from foreign interference.
This news comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, will appear before the procedure and House affairs committee on the issue of foreign interference in Canada’s elections on Friday.
Last month, the Liberals launched a filibuster in an effort to keep the prime minister’s chief of staff from testifying at committee.
The motion to summon Telford almost became a confidence motion – however, Trudeau ultimately backed down and Telford agreed to appear before the committee.
