Hogue Report sparks debate, fails to address Chinese interference, focuses heavily on India’s role in Canadian elections.
Ottawa: On Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., I was in the lock-up to review the Hogue Commission report before it was to go public at 11:30 a.m. Many expected it to bring long-overdue clarity to foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes. Instead, it has raised more questions than answers—particularly in its selective framing of threats. While it acknowledges multiple actors, it notably amplifies concerns about India while downplaying China’s well-documented, long-standing operations. Whether intentional or not, this imbalance shifts scrutiny away from Beijing’s extensive influence in Canada.
A Report that Fails to Move the Needle
Justice Hogue confirms that foreign interference affected the 2019 and 2021 elections but stops short of stating whether it impacted specific ridings. While her report acknowledges serious gaps in intelligence-sharing and decision-making at the highest levels, it does not hold anyone in the government accountable for its inaction. In fact, it threw our intelligence apparatus under the bus for leaking the information to Sam Cooper and Robert Fife at the Globe and Mail, which exposed much of the PRC manipulating and placing their choice in the Don Valley North Riding. In fact, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Public Safety Minister’s staff’s failure to act on intelligence, particularly concerning Chinese operations, were swept under the rug with bureaucratic justifications.
The report details election interference tactics, highlighting disinformation, cyber threats, and coercion within diaspora communities. However, it minimizes the extent of Chinese influence operations, including using proxy organizations, financial networks, and elite capture strategies to shape Canadian policy in Beijing’s favour. Instead, much of the political and media reaction to the report has focused on India’s alleged activities, particularly surrounding the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Nijjar Case and India’s Role in the Report
Justice Hogue dedicates significant attention to India’s alleged interference, citing RCMP findings linking Indian government agents to criminal activities, including the Nijjar killing. The political fallout from Prime Minister Trudeau’s public accusations against India has already strained diplomatic relations, and the Hogue report reinforces that narrative.
However, it fails to provide comparable scrutiny of Chinese activities, which extend far beyond election meddling. Unlike India, which primarily targets the Sikh diaspora to counter pro-Khalistan activism, China has systematically infiltrated Canadian institutions, funded research programs, and even attempted to influence lawmakers directly. By shifting the focus to India, the report inadvertently serves Beijing’s interests, allowing it to continue its operations with minimal political fallout.
Additionally, India has strongly pushed back against the report’s insinuations. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a direct response, stating, “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.” This rebuttal highlights the broader diplomatic fallout and India’s resistance to being singled out in a report that provides insufficient attention to other major actors.
Transnational Repression: A Growing Threat
One of the more alarming aspects of the report is its acknowledgment of transnational repression. While this issue was deemed outside the Commission’s direct mandate, Hogue recognizes that foreign governments, including China, Iran, Russia and India, have used intimidation, surveillance, and coercion to silence dissent in diaspora communities.
China’s influence is particularly insidious. The report confirms that the PRC actively targets Chinese-Canadian communities to suppress dissent, using diplomatic missions, students, and local organizations to enforce compliance. This includes forcing activists to return to China under threat to their families, a practice known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
Iran is also flagged for its efforts to monitor and intimidate Iranian dissidents in Canada, particularly those who speak out against the regime. Meanwhile, India’s focus remains on countering Khalistani separatism, but its activities are not on the same scale as China’s sophisticated global operations. Despite this, the report devotes disproportionate attention to Indian activities while treating Chinese transnational repression as just another issue.
Recommendations: A Step Forward or More Bureaucratic Deflection?
Justice Hogue puts forward a series of recommendations, including:
l Enhancing intelligence-sharing mechanisms to ensure senior decision-makers receive timely and actionable intelligence.
l Strengthening protections for vulnerable diaspora communities, acknowledging that transnational repression is a serious concern.
l Creating a whole-of-government Foreign Interference Strategy that integrates national security priorities with electoral integrity.
l Increasing transparency in intelligence reporting, including declassifying certain foreign interference findings to allow public scrutiny.
l Holding foreign influence actors accountable, including through new legislative measures like Bill C-70. Needs to be in place before next election
These recommendations, while sensible, do not address the root problem: the lack of political will to confront foreign interference. All of these recommendations I wrote on the back of a napkin over a year ago and yet no one is held to account in Ottawa and certainly not those in the PMO who allowed a candidate sponsored by the PRC to win a nomination race and then welcome him into the Liberal Caucus. MP Han Dong from Don Valley North now sits as independent. Does the report open up an avenue for him to return to the Liberal Caucus? That will be a decision for Mark Carney or Chrystia Freedland who are currently the two front-runers, to become PM for a few weeks. China’s activities have been well-documented by intelligence agencies and journalists alike, yet the government continues to hesitate on real action. Without enforcement mechanisms, the proposed strategies remain bureaucratic exercises rather than substantive reforms.
The Missed Opportunity
The Hogue report is a politically calculated document. It acknowledges foreign interference but avoids placing real blame on the government’s failure to act. By amplifying concerns about India while downplaying China’s systemic operations, it plays into a broader narrative that aligns with the Trudeau government’s diplomatic priorities and past closeness to CCP proxy fronts linked to the Beijing’s influence operations using the United Front Works Department. Political donations create influence and moving diaspora voters through intimidation, social media, advertising and cyber campaigns to vote for a candidate, affect the integrity of our democracy.
This selective approach does little to reassure Canadians that their democratic institutions are secure. While Justice Hogue’s findings reinforce the need for stronger protections, the report ultimately falls short of delivering real accountability. Canada needs more than another report—it needs decisive action to counter foreign influence, regardless of the country involved.
The report does nothing to allay fears by the Modi government that anything will be different regarding Canada/India relations under the current Liberal government.
However, I am sure the Canadian mission in Delhi is working hard to change this.
Hogue was effective in emphasizing one significant conclusion. “Misinformation is an existential threat,” but to combat this requires a commensurate investment to equip our government departments, intelligence agencies and media to report on all forms of these cognitive warfare operations.
The time has passed and the public must demand a shift to enforcing the measures already available, holding those who enable foreign interference accountable, and ensuring that Canada does not continue to be a playground for foreign adversaries. The fight against foreign interference is ongoing, and this report should be the beginning—not the end—of a serious national security conversation.
* Dean Baxendale is Publisher, CEO of the China Democracy Fund and co-author of the upcoming book, Canada Under Siege.