Foreign interference in Canada: Hackers didn’t gain access to Senate information [Video]

OTTAWA –

Canada’s chief electoral officer is playing down any suggestion that Elections Canada should directly administer political nomination or leadership contests.

During an appearance at a federal inquiry into foreign interference, Stéphane Perrault pointed to the importance of parties controlling their own processes and indicated his agency lacks the resources to administer such contests in any event.

Elections Canada has suggested possible changes to safeguard nominations, including barring non-citizens from helping choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing behaviour such as voting more than once.

However, representatives of some parties have told the federal commission of inquiry that such changes may be unwelcome, difficult to implement or counterproductive.

A report released in June by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians expressed concern about how easily foreign actors can take advantage of loopholes and vulnerabilities to support preferred candidates. 

Perrault said both that committee’s work and …