Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Feb. 10th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 21 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3), the committee is meeting on its study of foreign election interference.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.

Before I continue, I would ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table. These measures are in place to help prevent audio and feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters. You will notice a QR code; you can scan it to watch an awareness video.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the members.

As a reminder, all comments should be addressed through the chair.

For members in the room, if you wish to speak, raise your hand. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as best we can, and we appreciate your patience and understanding in this regard.

I would like to welcome today's witnesses.

From the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, we have Vanessa Lloyd, deputy director, security and intelligence threats to elections task force.

From the Communications Security Establishment, we have Bridget Walshe, associate head, Canadian centre for cybersecurity, security and intelligence threats to elections task force.

From the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, we have Saliou Babou, executive director, rapid response mechanism.

Finally, from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, we have Greg O'Hayon, director general, federal policing security intelligence, intelligence and international policing, security and intelligence threats to elections task force. There's a lot of intelligence in that title.

Thank you for being here.

Ms. Lloyd will be delivering opening remarks on behalf of everyone.

You have five minutes.

[Vanessa Lloyd, Deputy Director, Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force, Canadian Security Intelligence Service]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning to you and to the members of the committee.

As mentioned, my name is Vanessa Lloyd, and I am the deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. I'm appearing this morning in my capacity as the CSIS chair of the security and intelligence threats to elections task force, the SITE task force, during last year's 45th general election.

I'm joined this morning by my colleagues from three other member organizations of the SITE task force, Bridget Walshe, who is the associate head of the Canadian centre for cybersecurity, part of the Communications Security Establishment Canada; Greg O'Hayon, director general of federal policing; and Saliou Babou, the executive director of rapid response mechanism Canada at Global Affairs Canada.

Members of the committee may recognize Ms. Walshe, Mr. O'Hayon and me from our participation in the weekly media technical briefings during the election period, where we were also joined by the assistant secretary to cabinet, communications, Laurie-Anne Kempton; assistant secretary to cabinet, Allen Sutherland; associate assistant deputy minister of Global Affairs, Larisa Galadza; and my colleague, Anam Alvi, the executive lead for operations at CSIS.

Mr. Babou also had the pleasure to appear before you last week.

I would also like to take a moment to highlight the involvement of other partners at Public Safety Canada, including the foreign interference coordinator at the integrated threat assessment centre, or ITAC, and at the office of the commissioner of elections, as well as Elections Canada, who contributed to, supported or considered the work of the SITE task force during the election, for example, during daily meetings of the assistant deputy ministers' electoral security coordinating committee, or ADMESCC, which was co-chaired by the Privy Council Office.

Each of these representatives and their teams were proud to have had a role in protecting the integrity of the last general election from foreign information manipulation and interference, transnational repression, cyber-threats and violent extremism. It's our privilege to represent a part of that work by appearing before this committee today.

I will start with the reminder to members that, while the SITE task force was stood up to provide enhanced monitoring of threats to general election 45 from March 24 to May 5, 2025, the ongoing work of its member departments, agencies and partners continues year-round under our respective mandates and as a strong national security community.

This collective expertise and co-operation ensure that SITE's reporting and assessments included information, intelligence and insights from all member organizations to form a comprehensive understanding of a range of threat actor capabilities, intentions and potential actions before and during the electoral process.

Those assessments were leveraged in the government's preparation for general election 45. For example, there were the periodic briefings to the critical election incident public protocol panel, or the panel, and the election security coordinating committee; the task force's inclusion in pre-election training sessions for key stakeholders; and the task force's participation in engagement efforts, for example, with the House of Commons and the leaders' debates commission.

Similarly, once the election was called, SITE delivered classified briefings to security-cleared representatives of political parties on possible threats to GE45, providing them with non-partisan insights and information to help protect their campaigns.

The task force also developed and contributed information on tactics used by threat actors as well as personal and cybersecurity advice, which was sent to all confirmed candidates by the Privy Council Office along with instructions on how to report incidents of potential foreign interference, cyber or violent extremist threats to SITE.

During the monitoring period, SITE produced daily situational reports based on reporting from the task force members. We met weekly and supported the daily ADM election security coordinating committee meetings.

The ADM election security coordinating committee reviewed SITE reporting and provided recommendations to the panel via weekly briefings by the director of CSIS as the chair of SITE on behalf of the SITE task force.

Any perceived threat can erode public confidence and trust in the integrity of Canada's democratic processes and institutions. Enabling an informed and resilient public is the best way to counter foreign interference. As such, the SITE task force members participated in the government's weekly media technical briefings on five occasions during the writ period, increasing transparency by sharing information about the threats that Canada faces and measures put in place to detect and counter those threats.

These technical briefings helped to inform Canadians of observed incidents and the evolving threat environment as a whole, as well as to provide reminders and best practice recommendations for the public in navigating the online ecosystem pre election day. Tools and resources published by the government and by individual SITE members prior to and during the election period were highlighted, as was the ongoing work taking place to safeguard the election.

This included providing an outline of the threat landscape during the first technical briefing and sharing information about the threat posed by detected instances of digital transnational repression and online information operations, as well as an overview of CSE's fifth report on cyber-threats to Canada's democratic processes during subsequent briefings.

The technical briefings ultimately informed the media and the public that SITE had not observed incidents determined by the panel to have impacted Canada's ability to have a free and fair election. This assurance was provided in advance of Canadians casting their votes.

Following the election, SITE published an after-action report, which detailed SITE's assessments in advance of the election and observed instances of foreign interference during the election. The report affirms that during the election period, SITE observed instances of foreign interference, such as digital transnational repression, inauthentic and coordinated amplification of online content and online threats such as scams and disinformation. These activities were observed at a small scale and remain difficult to attribute to a foreign actor.

Two of these instances were discussed openly during the weekly technical briefings. The report emphasizes that it is essential to remain vigilant against foreign interference, which can take the form of information manipulation and transnational repression.

Citizens who are informed about the threats to democracy are better equipped to critically evaluate information and resist manipulation, helping them to confidently cast their votes and engage in ongoing democratic processes at all levels of government.

Building this resilience involves making sure Canadians have access to reliable and factual information, which is precisely why the SITE task force engaged in such proactive communications. SITE hopes that the after-action report is helpful to citizens and to this committee in this regard.

The SITE task force will continue to share information publicly about the threats Canada faces during future democratic processes, as well as about the measures being put in place to detect and counter them. Individual task force members will also continue investigative efforts under their department's or agency's mandate and communicate with the public when possible.

Mr. Chair, thank you again for the opportunity to do that today and to be a part of the committee's study. My colleagues and I would be pleased to answer questions from members.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you so much.

We'll first go to Mr. Cooper for six minutes, please.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Ms. Lloyd, you indicated that the SITE task force did not observe foreign interference activities that rose to the level of threatening Canada's ability to have a free and fair election, pursuant to the cabinet directive on the critical election incident public protocol. I hope you would concede that is a high threshold to meet.

[Vanessa Lloyd]

Mr. Chair, the threshold for that determination is set according to the critical election incident public protocol, and the job of the SITE task force members was to ensure that we put all instances of reported threats to Canada's security, be they foreign interference or threats from violent extremism, before the panel for their consideration.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

It is a high threshold, because it would be national in scope, wouldn't it? We're talking about compromising the ability to have a free and fair election across Canada. That's the standard.

[Vanessa Lloyd]

Mr. Chair, I believe our colleagues who appeared before you on the panel last week spoke to and gave evidence to that effect. What we want to ensure—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

I would hope, Ms. Lloyd, with the greatest of respect, that you would be familiar enough with the standard to answer yes or no to that.

[Vanessa Lloyd]

Mr. Chair, what I will reiterate is that the job of the SITE task force members was to ensure we had communicated sufficiently with Canadians such that it was clear that individual candidates could campaign—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Ms. Lloyd, I gave you a very simple.... I'm not trying to be adversarial here, but I am trying to get some basic answers.

I cited something in response to your testimony. You said that a determination was reached that interference activities did not rise to the level of threatening Canada's ability to have a free and fair election.

I asked you first if that's a high standard. Second of all, I asked you whether in order for that standard to apply it would encompass threats on a national scope.

These are straightforward questions—just an answer, please.

[Vanessa Lloyd]

Mr. Chair, I'll reiterate that the determination on whether the threshold had been met is one that is made not by the SITE task force members, but by the panel. Our responsibility in this process is to ensure that the ability for Canadians, campaigns and candidates to report to the SITE task force—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

You won't answer that. The answer to that is, yes. It's very clear.

[Bridget Walshe, Associate Head, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force, Communications Security Establishment]

Mr. Chair, if you'll permit me to add a little bit of elaboration to the response, I think—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

I don't need a further elaboration. My time is limited.

We know that Beijing targeted Conservative candidate Joe Tay in Don Valley North. In addition to Don Valley North, in how many other ridings were foreign interference activities detected during the 2025 election?

[Vanessa Lloyd]

Mr. Chair, what I can tell the committee is that the SITE task force ensured that, prior to the election, all security-cleared representatives of the parties were provided the mechanism to ensure that all campaigns and individual candidates had the ability to report to SITE instances where they felt that foreign interference or other threats to the election could have been occurring.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Ms. Lloyd, the SITE task force gathers intelligence and information. It provides it to the panel. The panel is tasked with the cabinet directive. That includes informing candidates. That determines whether to go public. That determines whether threats reach the level of compromising an election on a national scale.

I just asked you a simple question. How many ridings, aside from Don Valley North, were targeted?

[Vanessa Lloyd]

Mr. Chair, I'm not able to provide you with the number of reports that came into the SITE task force. What I can assure the committee is that all incidents that were reported by the public or by candidates or campaigns were provided—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

If you can't provide a number, then can someone on the panel provide a number?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

Isn't the witness supposed to have the same time as the questioner to answer?

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

No, it's Mr. Cooper's time. We've paused it.

It is Mr. Cooper's time to address it. Typically, that is what the case is, but if there is a lead-up in what is, typically, a yes-or-no question—or a leading question, as we called it back when I was practising law—I think a short answer would be expected.

It is the member's time, and I'll turn it back to Mr. Cooper.

[Bridget Walshe]

Maybe, if I can add....

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

What I can say is that we worked across all our mandates. Each of the agencies who are members of SITE looked across threats coming to any and all ridings and really made sure that we were putting together that intelligence to inform the panel.

I think a very important part of that process this year was coming back and reporting to Canadians, not just on some of the individual issues that came up, but also on the information that gave, as my colleague, Ms. Lloyd, mentioned previously—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Again, I'm asking a simple question.

Ms. Lloyd referenced the fact that there were interference activities involving transnational repression and other activities, scamming, I think she referred to. I'm just asking if there were other ridings on the radar of the RCMP, on behalf of the Communications Security Establishment, CSIS and Foreign Affairs that were noted.

Were other ridings and candidates targeted?

[Vanessa Lloyd]

As my colleague has mentioned, the SITE task force members were alert and reported to the panel all instances, regardless—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

I assume you're alert. I assume you report to the panel. That's your job.

I asked a question. Were any other ridings, in addition to Don Valley North, or candidates targeted, yes or no?

[Vanessa Lloyd]

As I mentioned, we were alert and reported all instances across the country, in all ridings—