OTTAWA, ON, April 7, 2025 /CNW/ - Today in Ottawa, the Government of Canada held its third briefing to media regarding the actions that it is taking to protect the 45th General Election from foreign interference.
These briefings are conducted under the direction of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol Panel (the Panel), and informed by the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force.
As part of its mandate to monitor the digital information ecosystem during the general election, the SITE Task Force has observed an information operation targeting the 45th general election.
The information operation is taking place on the social media platform WeChat, and was launched by Youli-Youmian (有理儿有面), WeChat's most popular news account. Intelligence reporting links the Youli-Youmian account to the PRC Chinese Communist Party's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
The content of this information operation contains stories about the Prime Minister, Liberal Party of Canada leader, and candidate in Nepean, Mark Carney.
The SITE Task Force observed large spikes of coordinated inauthentic behaviour preceding the election campaign, on March 10, and again during the writ period on March 25, 2025. Following increasing levels of engagement on the platform, the Liberal Party representative was briefed about the findings on April 6.
The SITE Task Force will be discussing this issue with Tencent, the developer of WeChat, to raise our concerns.
At this time, the Panel has determined that this activity is not affecting Canada's ability to have a free and fair election. This case is contained to one platform and has not spread further, nor is it affecting Canadians' abilities to make an informed decision about their vote.
However, it is important for voters to be aware of this type of activity, and to be cautious with the information they might be seeing both online and offline. Canadians should always evaluate the information landscape critically, take the time to review sources and messaging, and seek out trusted, official sources of information such as from election officials and the Government of Canada. There are tools and resources available to help voters confirm their sources.
This detection and public notice demonstrate that the measures in place to safeguard the 2025 General Election are working:
- Canada's national security agencies are working together to monitor and protect against all possible threats to Canada's democracy through the SITE Task Force;
- the Panel is closely evaluating the information and intelligence provided by the SITE Task Force to determine whether incidents are impacting Canada's ability to have a free and fair election; and
- the Government of Canada is continuing to communicate publicly about emerging issues that may have an impact.
The SITE Task Force will continue to monitor the digital information environment for foreign information manipulation, and to shine a light on foreign interference during Canada's 45th general election.
Canadians can rest assured that we have strong mechanisms in place to detect, deter, counter, and disrupt foreign interference.
Associated Links
- Backgrounder: PRC-led information operation on WeChat targeting the 45th General Election
- Protecting Canada's General Election
- Resisting disinformation during an election
- Key Considerations for Panel Decisions
SOURCE Privy Council Office
Contacts: Media Relations, Privy Council Office, 613-957-5420, [email protected]
Share this article