Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has characterized foreign interference by China as “the greatest strategic threat” to Canada because of its “pervasive, persistent, and sophisticated state-sponsored threat activity targeting Canadian democratic institutions”. The CSIS 2025 public report, which was tabled in Parliament on May 1, continues to identify China as the most active and sophisticated source of foreign interference and espionage in Canada.
Bill C-25 responds to the specific evidence of Chinese influence and interference in Canadian federal elections, centred on intelligence assessments from CSIS, reviews by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, and Commissioner Hogue's Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions.
The urgent necessity for legislation to address the current Chinese regime's challenges to the integrity of our democratic process is underscored by two escalating threats. One, under party general secretary Xi Jinping—