Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull has been called out on social media and was even hit with a Twitter community note addressing his false claim that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre would fail a security clearance due to a “red flag in his background.”

Turnbull made the unsubstantiated claim on Thursday in response to Poilievre’s refusal to be involved in classified briefings on Chinese interference.

“Why won’t ⁦Poilievre⁩ get security clearance? Either he prefers to remain ignorant of the facts so he can continue to mislead, or he has a red flag in his background which would have him fail to gain clearance causing him embarrassment,” speculated Turnbull.

Shortly after receiving a flood of replies arguing that Poilievre has already undergone a security clearance as a former cabinet minister under the Stephen Harper government, the tweet was hit with a community note by Twitter. 

“Pierre Poilievre, leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in Canada, has already undergone a series of background checks as a former Cabinet Minister in Harper’s government. He was also sworn into King’s Privy Council for Canada as a member,” wrote the note, which linked to the Government of Canada website. 

Conservative MP Andrew Scheer accused the Liberals of spreading “sleazy misinformation” in response to the tweet. 

“Sleazy misinformation from the Liberals! Turnbull may not know, never having been in cabinet, but all Ministers obtain security clearances and are vetted. As a former Minister, Pierre went through all that and was cleared. No more conspiracy theories. Call a public inquiry now,” tweeted Scheer. 

Poilievre has refused to comply with the federal government to get secret briefings on the issue of foreign interference and has instead opted to call for a public inquiry into the matter. 

Earlier this week, former governor general David Johnston shut down prospects of a public inquiry in his report as a special rapporteur appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the issue. 

In response, Poilievre accused Trudeau of “appointing a family friend” to clear his government of wrongdoing and called for a full public inquiry. 

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