'India has the intent, capability to interfere in elections', warns Canadian spy agency

China, Russia, India, and Pakistan could interfere in the upcoming elections in Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has warned. Canada is set to hold the federal election on April 28, after newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney called for snap polls on Sunday.

CREDIT: REUTERS

China, India likely to interfere in Canadian elections

According to Vanessa Lloyd, Deputy Director of Operations at CSIS, while China and India are likely to try to interfere in the general election, Russia and Pakistan also have the potential to do so.

"The PRC (People's Republic of China) is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada's democratic process in this current election," Lloyd said on Monday.

"We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes," she said.

Previous election interferences

An earlier probe, the report of which was submitted in January, found that Canada was slow in responding to efforts by China and India to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 elections, even though the outcomes were unaffected by the meddling.

CREDIT: AP

Canada's international troubles

Canada is going into the polls at a time when the country's relations with India, China, and most importantly its neighbour, the US, have broken down.

India and Canada have been at odds over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023, for which the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had blamed agents of the Indian government, a charge New Delhi has denied.

Canada-US ties have also broken down in the past few months over Trump's tariff war and claims to make Canada the US's 51st state.

Can Carney do the impossible?

The elections, which are just a month away, will be a true test for PM Carney, who only assumed office on 14 March, succeeding long-time PM Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January.

CREDIT: REUTERS

However, there is good news for Carney, as the Liberal Party of Canada, which had been trailing in opinion polls against the Conservative Party of Canada when Trudeau was in office, has managed to regain some lost ground.

While some polls have put the Liberals and Conservatives neck and neck, others have given the incumbent a marginal lead.

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