Alleged Chinese attempt to interfere in Vancouver election sparks anger
CTV
Allegations that Vancouver's Chinese consulate sought to interfere with last year's municipal election reverberated through the city's political class on Thursday.
Allegations that Vancouver's Chinese consulate sought to interfere with last year's municipal election reverberated through the city's political class on Thursday.
Mayor Ken Sim and former mayor Kennedy Stewart each fielded questions about an article in the Globe and Mail documenting a secret report from Canada's spy agency about efforts by China’s then-consul-general, Tong Xiaoling, to mentor or "groom" Chinese-Canadian municipal politicians for higher office to advance Chinese interests.
In the article, Stewart revealed that agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had approached him in May 2022 to discuss Chinese interference in the city.
Speaking to CTV News Vancouver on Thursday, the former mayor said he doesn't believe his loss in last year's election was due to foreign interference, but added that he found the CSIS allegation that local politicians could be working to advance Chinese interests "super serious."
Stewart, who was mayor from late 2018 to late 2022, recalled positive interactions with the Chinese consulate early in his term. He said his relationship with the consulate soured as relations between Canada and China worsened over the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver and of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China.
The former mayor said he attended events at which Xiaoling publicly "denounced" him and the Canadian government more broadly, and said the former consul general "made it pretty clear" that she'd prefer if someone else was in the Vancouver mayor's office.
"It seemed like they were openly after me," Stewart said. "And it didn't surprise me when the Globe and Mail said that they were working behind the scenes to kind of make sure I wasn't re-elected."
