Canada says it fears interference by India, China in April 28 elections: Report
Canada’s spy agency anticipates foreign countries to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere in the democratic process of elections
Canada, which is set to elect a new government on April 28, has said that it anticipates interference by New Delhi and Beijing in the election process and that Russia and Pakistan too have the potential to do so, a Reuters report quoting the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has said.
The allegations by CSIS comes at a time when New Delhi and Ottawa are sharing strained ties amid India’s allegation about Canada’s failure in reining in separatist elements on its soil and the latter’s allegations about India’s hand in the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
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Fear of AI interference
Speaking to Reuters, CSIS deputy director, Vanessa Lloyd said China is likely to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to interfere in the Canadian polls.
“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada’s democratic process in this current election,” she said.
“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes," she added.
"It's often very difficult to establish a direct link between foreign interference activities and election results ... Nevertheless, threat activities can erode public trust in the integrity of Canada's democratic processes and institutions," Lloyd told Reuters.
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She also named Russia and Pakistan as two other countries that could potentially conduct foreign interference activities against Canada.
Both India and China are yet to respond to the allegations.
Previous allegations
Both India and China have previously denied of any such interference. In January, India rubbished the claims made in a Canadian Commission report that accused the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of meddling in Canada’s elections.
The report also said that Canada was slow in responding to India and China’s alleged attempts to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
In its response, the MEA said that it was, in fact, Canada which has been consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs.
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"It is in fact Canada which has been consistently interfering in India's internal affairs. This has also created an environment for illegal migration and organised criminal activities. We reject the report's insinuations on India and expect that the support system enabling illegal migration will not be further countenanced," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.