The chair of the organizing committee that saw Pierre Poilievre elected as Conservative leader is warning Canadians that if the Liberal Party of Canada doesn’t change its lax membership rules ahead of a looming leadership contest, the race could become a free-for-all for foreign actors.
Political scientist and former Conservative Party of Canada leadership election organizing committee chair Ian Brodie told True North that given China’s past meddling in the Liberal nomination process, business as usual is not good enough.
“Yes, there are good reasons to worry about the Liberal rules. The party has done nothing to clean up the rules that allowed Chinese diplomats to bus Chinese students studying in Canada to Han Dong’s nomination meeting. In fact, they seem to think this is a model for how Liberal decisions should be made,” Brodie told True North in an emailed statement.
Brodie was referring to reports citing confidential CSIS sources that claimed now-independent MP Han Dong was assisted by the Chinese consulate in his bid to become the Liberal candidate during the 2019 election.
Dong would win the nomination and eventually become a Liberal MP before being forced to leave the caucus and sit as an independent once the allegations were made public. Allegedly, Chinese diplomats had arranged for two buses of Chinese Canadian seniors to attend the nomination meeting and ensure Dong’s victory. Dong has since denied the allegations, claiming that his nomination had followed Liberal party procedures.
“If the Liberals allow a membership sign up period for this leadership race, they will have a race between foreign actors to influence the course of the next government. China. Hamas. Iran. It’s endless,” said Brodie.
True North reached out to the Liberal Party of Canada for comment but did not receive a response.
Although the Liberals have yet to release their rules for the upcoming leadership race, Brodie isn’t the only one warning the Liberals that without change to how the party handles membership, their leadership process could be compromised.
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his plans to resign from leading the party and the country’s top office when a new leader is selected, the party now has only a few short months to organize a leadership race. Furthermore, Trudeau’s decision to prorogue Parliament until Mar. 24, further complicates things for the party given that its constitution requires at least four months for a new leader to be selected.
Elections Canada has also echoed concerns about the Liberal membership rules which extend membership to anybody over the age of 14 who resides in Canada, including non-citizens and those who don’t hold a permanent residency.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault recently recommended that the party change their rules to bar non-citizens from voting in the nomination process, a change the Liberal Party of Canada has since shown little willingness to make.
