In an era where geopolitical tensions continue to evolve, the threat of foreign interference has been growing among democratic countries, with scholars calling for greater action by governments.
“Canadian confidence in our elections has been shaken by reports of interference,” Susan Pond, program director at the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs at York University, said at this year’s Glendon Global Dialogue (GGD).
“There are a number of foreign states who are actively working to secretly and often illegally meddle in our democratic institutions.”
A panel of experts at the March 12 Glendon Global Dialogue explored the risks, realities and policy responses related to foreign interference in democratic processes.
According to a report by the Foreign Interference Commission, Canada has been a significant target of foreign interference by other countries. China “stands out as a main perpetrator of foreign interference against Canada” and is viewed as “the biggest threat to the Canadian electoral space by a significant margin,” the report says.
This concern of foreign interference in elections across the world was echoed by the panel.
“Foreign interference in domestic elections has become a critical and acute problem across many, many nations,” said law professor Lori Ringhand from Georgia University. While she says the problem is not new, the advancements and growing reach of online communications that cross borders have made it difficult for “domestic laws to actually try to constrain or contain electoral interference.”
Ringhand agreed.
“Much of the most damaging interference in domestic elections is in the form of manipulated information, altered information, or information that’s taken out of context,” she said.
Francis Garon, an associate professor of political science at York University, shared findings from his research on China’s interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections. His team found that rather than actively tackling the national security issue of foreign interference, both the Conservative and Liberal parties prioritized their partisan interests.
His report found that both the Conservative and Liberal parties participated in blame avoidance tactics instead of accepting responsibility for China’s foreign interference. According to the report, the Conservative party’s tactic had been to “deflect blame onto their opponents,” and victimize themselves, accusing the Liberals of “incompetence and complicity.” On the other hand, the Liberals were found to often avoid “direct engagement with the issue” by “redirecting discussions toward diversity and anti-Asian racism.”
Garon believes that foreign interference in elections will continue in future elections, including Canada’s federal race.
“I think that they will play some kind of role. I don’t know exactly what kind of role, because the actors are adapting. It’s changing, and they adapt to the new circumstances,” he said in an interview.
According to Garon, more needs to be done by the government to combat foreign interference. This is because liberal democracies like Canada with “an open political process” are particularly susceptible due to elements like the ability for the free press to be influenced with money, where it “is easier to buy and to be more involved.” He believes that factors like this can be a vulnerability.
“One of the main problems that they identify in the report is the flow of communication in between the different actors,” he said, stating that communication about interference findings between government bodies has been insufficient, which could hinder efforts against foreign interference.
To combat foreign interference, Ringhand said governments should consider measures such as restricting content that could harm democratic institutions and boosting public education to help people identify misinformation.
“Two groups, kids and old people, are very vulnerable to misinformation online and just assuming that when they see something in a certain format that it’s true,” she said, emphasizing the need for strong solutions to tackle foreign interference and harmful content.
“This whole topic is very complex,” Nicolas Schirmann, a student at York University who attended the GGD, said in an interview. Describing the issue as a “very important one” in light of recent elections, he believes foreign interference is a “growing threat within our democracy.”
“We must also consider people directly affected, and that we make sure that prevention is key,” he said. “It’s a societal problem and must be resolved at the national and even international level.”
