Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for inviting me to discuss the work of the panel that administered the critical election incident public protocol during the 45th general election.
As you mentioned, Mr. Chair, I, along with my colleagues David Morrison and Tricia Geddes, had the privilege of being panel members during the 45th general election.
I would like to begin with a core message, one that multiple independent reviews of multiple elections have shown to be true: Canada's elections were sound. Canadians can and should have full confidence that their elections were secure and that their voices were heard.
All democracies are targets of foreign interference, and in that regard, Canada is no different. As we heard during the public inquiry into foreign interference, there is always a baseline of foreign interference observed by our intelligence agencies, which work very hard to mitigate it. It is important to note, however, that we did not see a spike in foreign interference activities during the elections. While we must remain vigilant against continued foreign attempts to undermine our democracy, Canada has implemented robust measures that have protected and will continue to protect the integrity of our elections.
In the most recent election, we implemented an enhanced protocol. Our efforts produced a greater level of preparation and transparency than for any election before. To support the evolving works of the panel, the Clerk of the Privy Council issued a guidance outlining that the panel should consider the full range of actions available to the government, including communicating with Canadians. These efforts to mitigate or defuse attempts at interference before they met the threshold of a critical incident were an important change in focus.
We worked to mitigate problems as they arose and moved quickly to inform Canadians when necessary. We were not starting from scratch. We drew on the lessons learned from previous elections, the recommendations resulting from independent reviews, and the findings of the commission responsible for the public inquiry into foreign interference. We therefore knew that rigorous monitoring and response efforts were crucial. The government put new safeguards in place. Between January 2024 and March 2025, leading up to the general election, the panel held 17 meetings and individual briefings. We also strengthened interdepartmental coordination. We worked more closely with the security and intelligence threats to elections, or SITE, task force, for ongoing intelligence analysis and better risk mitigation.
Importantly, we aimed to foster trust and resilience in the Canadian public. During this past election, we instructed SITE to hold weekly public briefings to inform Canadians on the threat environment. This was a first-of-its-kind initiative for Canadian elections. We were and remain committed to transparency and vigilance.
During these briefings, our experts provided accurate and timely information about such matters as transnational repression, particularly by the PRC against a Conservative candidate in the election; efforts to amplify contrasting narratives about political candidates across a variety of social media platforms; efforts by Russia to undertake foreign information manipulation and interference activities online; and incidents where politicians' names were used to promote cryptocurrency and financial activities. Government officials also provided regular briefings to cleared political party representatives on the threat landscape before and during the election.
We expected that foreign interference activities would happen, and we were prepared for them. Despite their existence during the election, the panel, informed by the task force activities, was able to determine that none reached the threshold of threatening the election's integrity and its outcome.
Let me be clear: The integrity of the 45th general election was not compromised. The election was carried out securely and with confidence. Thanks to layered defence mechanisms across a number of areas, we were able to mitigate malign activity. We ensured continuous monitoring of the online environment, we assessed emerging threats rapidly and we took countermeasures, disrupting or even neutralizing the attempted activity.
On the diplomatic front, we were in contact with other governments, advising foreign missions what the rules were and what constituted acceptable conduct. Since the last election, we have continued our efforts to bolster Canada against foreign interference. Nearly 70% of the recommendations arising from the public inquiry into foreign interference have been, or are being, implemented. We have released the proposed foreign influence transparency and accountability regulations, and the process to appoint the first commissioner is under way.
Just as we learned from past lessons, the experience gained, particularly during the 45th election, will inform our work going forward. For the first time, we released a retrospective report summarizing the panel's deliberations and decisions during the caretaker period. I hope it was useful to you.
In closing, I want to reiterate the importance of continuing to ensure that Canadians can freely and fairly exercise their right to choose their democratic representatives; Canada's security and sovereignty depend on it.
Thank you. We are available to answer members' questions.
