A measure of Beijing’s political influence surged more than 50 percent in Canada over the past two years, an international study finds, after media reports of China’s clandestine election interference were confirmed in public reviews. The China Index 2024, produced by Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab and its global research partners, shows that Beijing’s presence in Canadian politics, academia, media, and society is advancing at a faster pace than almost anywhere else in the democratic world.
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The most alarming takeaway is that China’s increasing grip on Canadian institutions is driving dependence — a factor that could pull Canadian decision makers closer into Beijing’s orbit on economic, security, and social policies.
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The results reflect a “triple movement” in Canada’s relationship with Beijing: greater exposure through academic, media, and technology ties; sustained pressure through China’s diplomacy and retaliation; and rising alignment in the two nations’ policy positions.
“Canada experienced rising exposure and alignment with the PRC alongside sustained high levels of coercive pressure,” the report says, “highlighting a complex mix of engagement and influence dynamics.”
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This confirms a longstanding pattern documented by The Bureau: pro-Beijing Chinese-language outlets in Canada continue to echo Beijing’s lines on Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang. Diaspora-linked cultural organizations, often connected to PRC diplomats or United Front groups, are also highly active. The Index notes that between 2022 and 2024, diaspora cultural events tied to PRC entities nearly doubled worldwide, rising from 38 percent of countries surveyed to 72 percent. Canada is among the cases where these events are expanding and carry political overtones.
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Beijing’s penetration of Canadian technology sectors, from consumer electronics to PRC-linked equipment in infrastructure, remains high. Globally, PRC-linked technology is now embedded in 78.8 percent of critical infrastructure sectors, up from 65.4 percent in 2022, and Canada is part of that trend.
The Economic domain, by contrast, declined slightly for Canada between 2022 and 2024. This may reflect Ottawa’s incremental steps to tighten foreign investment reviews and limit acquisitions in sensitive sectors. Still, the decline in the economic category did not offset the steep rise in politics and technology, which now dominate Canada’s dependence profile.
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A broken clock is right 2 times a day. China is prob interfering in elections.
I can agree on the evidence and another more trustworthy source can also provide evidence.
But that still does not mean we should take any action.
A possible stance is China is interfering in elections but we should let them and act as if they don’t.
I support such a wilfully ignorant position. China, as of right now, do not oppose my interests so I’m OK with them interfering. If China goes against my interests then we should stop them interfering.
I’m tired of supporting/turning a blind eye to/allow to opporate the friends/allies of the interests of conservatives (tenent media/turning point/fossil fuel lobby/MAGA Canada) and opposing their enemies. I want the reverse for a change.
China, as of right now, do not oppose my interests so I’m OK with them interfering.
This is, of course, wrong. The Chinese government is deliberately undermining democracies and the rule of law. I understand that you don’t like what you name “MAGA Canada”, but China is far ahead in its dictatorial policy. If you don’t like “MAGA Canada”, you can’t ignore China.
If China goes against my interests then we should stop them interfering.
They already do, you may just not noticing it - and once you have done it in the future, it may be too late …
I would argue the undermining of democracy started before China became a potential power.
The mass privatization of the 90s, deregulation of the 80s, and concurrent tax cuts for stock holders, like 50% inclusion rate for capital gains legislated in the early 2000s, that still exist to this day all move power from “one person, one vote” to “one share, one vote”.
Conservatives and the Liberals both advocated for, implement, and concretized actions that undermine democracy.
To my knowledge, China interferes by targeting Chinese citizen/national students and pumping propaganda that advance their material/commercial interests.
The first one is concerning. The second not so much.
I want to have a BYD EV car, Huawei phone, with an additional pier in Vancouver to get more cheap Temu products from China ;). Mind you, in this report it doesn’t talk about interface from those advocating for an addional LNG terminal in BC to export to China, because in that instance the commercial interests is either domestic or US-based. But apparently only one type of commercial interests undermine democracy.
As for dictatorial power. I work in tech. I could not find an employer that I could get a job from that didn’t require me to sign an NDA nor opposed unions. Yet I should be concerned about China’s opposition to “Freedom of Speech” and “Freedom of Assembly”.
Take a look at the Irving family’s dominance over New Brunswick and then tell me what is the bigger threat to democracy.
The thread is somehow funny. There is ample evidence from several sources that China is interfering in Canadian elections, but some are ‘whatabouting’ on a think tank’s funding.
Foreign interference watchdog to be named in September
Canada’s first foreign interference watchdog will be named [in September] and a new foreign agent registry will be launched later this fall, said Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree … He said Prime Minister Mark Carney has tasked him with ensuring the government is ready to move forward with measures adopted in last year’s foreign interference legislation by the time Parliament resumes sitting.
Sure, sure, let’s all take this research about the US’s greatest geopolitical rival from this US State Department-funded think tank without any grains of salt. That couldn’t possibly be a document motivated by the interests of their funders. That’s just not how think tanks work, right?
Regarding credibility I think it should be brought up the same source and author used a footage from a Chow Yun Fat movie as evidence of foreign interference.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooper_(journalist)
In September 2024, Cooper published a report in The Bureau claiming to show video evidence of Bill Majcher, a former RCMP undercover operative accused of assisting Chinese intelligence, meeting with drug trafficker Tse Chi Lop in a Macau casino. Journalist Nury Vittachi noted that the purported video footage actually was from the 2014 action-comedy movie From Vegas to Macau, starring Chow Yun-fat.[13] The article was subsequently retracted by Cooper.[14]
I am not really surprised, but that is still hilarious.
Oof, thats insane that he did that and is still allowed to publish. As long as it says “China bad” its fit to print, I guess.
Oof, thats insane that he did that and is still allowed to publish.
This is not Lemmygrad and the like.
Right, while US interests literally own most local newspapers in Canada. Come the fuck on.
China made attempts to interfere in the 2019 Canadian federal election and 2021 Canadian federal election and threatened Canadian politicians, according to Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Parliament of Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission.
Canada spies found China interfered in last two elections, probe hears – (April 2024)
Canada probe finds evidence of foreign meddling in elections, but results not affected – (May 2024)
Even if true how’s this different than the Americans doing this shit to us?
Atleast china has shit we want.
Who is “we”? Other than a few tankies, no one wants that.
This interaction was basically: Me: “This source has credibility issues.” You: “But, they’re confirming something I care about, so we don’t talk about credibility issues.”
This think tank even had their own Chair and deputy CEO forced to resign after it becoming known they were engaged in politics with one of their domestic parties while supposedly publishing “unbiased” analysis on the topic, and those two then went to join the campaign.
They’re funded by the US, have history of issues with bias, this is a well-known model for generating propaganda, and their backers have specific geopolitical interests in advancing narratives to generate fear on this topic.
Credibility is not an issue here as China interfered in Canadian elections. This is a fact. You ignored the facts and tried to smear the source.
Whether there have been credibility issues with this think tank or not, we must say there is evidence of foreign meddling in election by the Chinese state.
Okay, so now you’re just repeating “I don’t care about questionable credibility because they’re confirming something I care about.”
I don’t understand why you care more about the funding of this think tank than about the fact that China is deliberately interfering in Canadian elections. You will agree that the government in Beijing poses a big threat to democracy, right?
I’m sorry but where’s the actual evidence that China is this “threat to democracy”? The articles you posted say that the government says that but the government has yet to supply hard evidence of Chinese interference in elections outside of some bot activity on social media. If troll comments on Facebook comment sections is the bar for “threat to democracy” then the bar is so low it’s practically worthless.
Wow, can you point to one place where I said there’s no foreign interference?
I feel like I’m interacting with someone who read about medical benefits of some health technique from a credible source and now believes every huckstery health influencer trying to sell a product on top of the narrative.
That’s basically what a think tank like this is.
Yes. Credibility matters. New information being introduced by a source that has credibility issues should be seriously questioned.
