Justin Trudeau’s office, warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese foreign interference network.According to sources, the candidate in question was Han Dong, then a former Ontario MPP whom Canada Security Intelligence Service started tracking in June of that year.National security officials also allege that Dong, now a sitting MP re-elected in 2021, is one of at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates allegedly supported by Beijing in the 2019 contest.
Sources say the service also believes Dong is a witting affiliate in China’s election interference networks.Three sources with knowledge of the investigation said Dong emerged as a successor to MP Geng Tan as the 2019 Liberal candidate in ways the service found suspicious.
These sources spoke to Global News on the condition of anonymity, which they requested because they risk prosecution under the Security of Information Act.CSIS allegedly had intelligence that Beijing preferred Han Dong to Tan. “The Consulate was not pleased with Geng Tan’s performance,” a national security official aware of the service’s investigation told Global News.The service relied on surveillance and wiretap evidence as well as human-source reporting, sources said.In late September, about 48 hours before the federal election nomination deadline, CSIS urged Trudeau’s team to rescind Dong’s candidacy, a national security official said.Sources alleged that Dong frequently called Chinese officials in Ontario and “was considered a close friend of the Toronto Consulate.”CSIS was also allegedly concerned about the Liberal Party’s nomination process.