Keeping an eye on Communist, Totalitarian China, and its influence both globally, and we as Canadians. I have come to the opinion that we are rarely privy to truth regarding the real goal, the agenda of China, it's ambitions for Canada [including special focus on the UK, US & Australia]. No more can we trust the legacy media as there appears to be increasing censorship applied to the topic of communist China. I ask why. Here is what I find.
CANADA’S SILENT CRISIS — AND WHY WASHINGTON CAN’T IGNORE IT
Serious questions are now being raised about foreign influence inside Canada’s political system — and whether those at the top are confronting it honestly.
Parliamentary testimony and reporting indicate that Beijing-linked information campaigns circulated widely on WeChat, a platform with over a million users in Canada, particularly among diaspora communities. Witnesses confirmed that the messaging largely portrayed Prime Minister Mark Carney in a positive light, even describing him as a “savior,” an “old hand,” and a “tough guy” standing up to the United States.
One WeChat post reportedly ran 2,000 words under the title “The United States Facing a Tough Prime Minister from Canada.”
Yet when Canadian authorities briefed the public, critics say the full scope and tone of the campaign was downplayed — presenting Carney as a “target” rather than a beneficiary of favorable foreign narratives. That omission matters.
As the National Post and the Toronto Sun later reported, the evidence suggested something far more troubling: China actively promoting Carney during a sensitive political period.
Why wasn’t that made unmistakably clear to Canadians?
Critics argue that Canada’s mainstream media — heavily subsidized by the federal government — failed to report the story with urgency or balance, leaving voters without a complete picture of a Beijing-directed influence campaign unfolding in real time.
This is not about left vs right.
It’s about national sovereignty and national security.
Canada is America’s closest ally, largest trading partner, and northern shield. If foreign powers are shaping political narratives in Ottawa — and Parliament is failing to act decisively — that becomes a North American security issue, not just a Canadian one.
The United States cannot dictate Canada’s politics — nor should it. But Washington cannot afford to look away.
At minimum, these revelations demand:
• Full transparency
• Independent investigations
• And honest reporting free from government financial pressure
As tensions rise globally, the stability and integrity of America’s nearest neighbor matters more than ever.
Silence is not neutrality.
And complacency is not sovereignty
Evidence from Canadian security agencies, parliamentary committees, and independent researchers demonstrate that Chinese state-affiliated information operations, often including propaganda and disinformation, have used the messaging platform WeChat to influence Chinese-Canadian communities and Canadian politics.
Key Findings on WeChat and Chinese Influence in Canada
Coordinated Information Operations: The Canadian government's Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force identified coordinated, inauthentic behavior on WeChat, where anonymous accounts, in most cases, content linked to the Chinese state, targeted Canadian officials.
Targeting Politicians:
Mark Carney (2025): Security officials reported in April 2025 that an information operation, linked to the Chinese Communist Party's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission via the "Youli-Youmian" WeChat account, spread positive narratives about Liberal leader Mark Carney to shape favourable perceptions in Chinese-Canadian communities.
Michael Chong (2023):Global Affairs Canada identified a campaign on WeChat that amplified false or misleading narratives about MP Michael Chong during a 2023 by-election, coinciding with diplomatic tensions.
Mechanisms of Influence:The campaigns often involve a mix of state-media content and anonymous accounts, creating an "echo chamber" that spreads narratives favorable to the People's Republic of China (PRC) or critical of politicians deemed to be anti-China.
Government Action and Response:
Ban on Government Devices: The Government of Canada banned WeChat from all government-issued mobile devices in October 2023, citing the need to protect network and data security.
Monitoring and Disclosure: While the government has monitored these activities via the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), officials have noted the difficulty in definitively proving direct state ordering due to the covert nature of the platform.
No Election Swings: Despite the detection of these activities, Canadian security officials have previously indicated that while foreign interference attempts exist, they did not alter the overall results of recent federal elections.
Challenges in Mitigation The influence of WeChat is particularly difficult to counter because it acts as a primary news source for many in the Chinese-speaking diaspora, and its users are often subject to censorship and surveillance by the Chinese government, even when outside of China. Some analysts argue that the response to interference has been slow if at all.
Conservative MP urges Ottawa to ban Chinese state broadcaster from airwaves
CGTN is spreading 'disinformation, propaganda' in Canada, says Michael Chong
A Conservative MP is renewing calls for the federal government to ban authoritarian state broadcasters, including the China Global Television Network.
"CGTN, China's authoritarian state-controlled broadcaster, is still operating here, spreading disinformation, propaganda and violating international human rights laws," said Michael Chong, the Conservative foreign affairs critic, during a parliamentary committee hearing Monday night.
As the Toronto Star has reported, the international human rights organization Safeguard Defenders lodged a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) back in 2019 against China Global Television Network (CGTN) and China Central Television's Chinese-language international channel CCTV-4. Safeguard Defenders alleges the two networks have aired the forced confessions of 60 people who were detained by Chinese authorities — including the organization's director, Peter Dahlin.
During Monday's committee hearing, Chong asked Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino why the federal government hasn't issued an order under section seven of the Broadcasting Act, which permits the government to issue general policy directions to the CRTC.
Mendicino said that while he shares Chong's "profound concerns about the distribution of any kind of disinformation," the CRTC is an independent body.
Chong pointed out that the government asked the CRTC to review the licence of the state-controlled Russian television network RT just last year. The regulator later removed RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and RT France from its list of non-Canadian programming services and stations that are allowed to broadcast in this country.
"I would hope it doesn't take a war for the government to change its position on state-controlled authoritarian broadcasters on public, Crown-owned airwaves," Chong said.
When asked if the government would consider Chong's request, a spokesperson for Heritage Minster Pablo Rodriguez again stated that the CRTC is meant to be independent.
"It is not, and should never be, up to the government to decide which channel is authorized and which is not," said Laura Scaffidi.
"It is up to the independent regulator, the CRTC, to consult with Canadians and make those decisions in Canada's best interest."
'There's no excuse'
Chong told CBC News the government's response has been "baffling."
He said he wants to see the CRTC adopt a general policy of denying broadcast applications from authoritarian state media entities.
"We're calling on the government to direct the CRTC to a new broadcasting policy of general application that authoritarian state controlled broadcasters, which spread propaganda and disinformation and which violate international human rights law, should not be on the list," said Chong. "There's no excuse."
Chong said that while he knows RT's reports are still available online — and CGTN's content would be as well if the CRTC banned it from broadcasting — the government is under no obligation to give these outlets a public platform.
CRTC needs a 'backbone,' says rights group
Dahlin of Safeguard Defenders said the organization fears its complaint to the CRTC is going nowhere.
"It is our view that the best way to deal with CCTV, CGTN and other similar abusive TV broadcasters is to let CRTC do their job, according to established procedures," he said.
"But that, of course, requires a regulator with both will, determination and a backbone, and soon one might suspect that CRTC are lacking in that department.
"There is seemingly something holding CRTC back, but as outsiders, we do not know what that may be."
A spokesperson for the CRTC said the regulator is still working on Safeguard Defenders' complaint.
"Given the file is still open, we cannot comment further at this time," said Frédéric Lamaute.
CBC News has requested comment from CGTN but has not received a response.
U.K. regulator suspended CGTN's licence
Britain's broadcasting and telecommunications regulator Ofcom suspended CGTN's broadcast licence in 2021 after it concluded the news network was controlled by the Chinese Communist party, a violation of U.K. broadcasting laws.
A few months later, it fined Star China Media Limited — which owned the U.K. licence for CGTN — £200,000 (about $349,000 Cdn) for unfair treatment of individuals on its programmes following two separate complaints.
Ofcom concluded that airing the forced confession of Simon Cheng, a former official at the British consulate in Hong Kong, was a serious breach of the U.K.'s licensing code.
Chinese police claimed the Hong Kong citizen had been detained for "soliciting prostitutes" and aired an alleged confession.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, left, and director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) David Vigneault, right, wait to appear before the Special Committee on Canada-People's Republic of China Relationship (CACN) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.
Cheng said he was beaten, blindfolded, deprived of sleep, chained spread-eagle and repeatedly interrogated by the Chinese secret police about the U.K.'s supposed role in Hong Kong's protests.
The daughter of Gui Minhai, a Hong Kong bookseller who holds Swedish citizenship, filed the other successful complaint.
In 2020, Gui was sentenced to 10 years in jail for "illegally providing intelligence overseas." CGTN aired footage of Gui appearing to express regret for his actions.
In 2020, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that China's efforts to distort the news and influence media outlets in Canada "have become normalized."
"Chinese-language media outlets operating in Canada and members of the Chinese-Canadian community are primary targets of PRC-directed foreign influenced activities," says a briefing note obtained through an access to information request.
As of Jan. 1, 2022, four CCTV channels were on the CRTC's authorized non-Canadian programming list: CCTV 9 Documentary, CCTV English News, CCTV Entertainment Channel, CCTV-4 and CCTV-Français.
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