No need to overturn nomination, official says

Liberal director addresses campaign irregularities

The director of the Liberal election campaign in 2019 says he recommended Justin Trudeau take no action on alleged nomination irregularities in a Toronto riding.

Jeremy Broadhurst’s testimony Tuesday at a federal inquiry shed fresh light on suggestions of Chinese interference in the selection of Han Dong as the Liberal nominee in Don Valley North five years ago.

Dong left the Liberal caucus following media reports about allegations he willingly participated in Chinese meddling and won his seat in 2019 with Beijing’s help — accusations he denies.

Broadhurst described Tuesday how intelligence officials briefed Liberal party representatives in 2019 about the alleged irregularities, prompting him to pass the information on to the prime minister.

A summary of unconfirmed government intelligence presented to the inquiry last week said Chinese international students with fake addresses had been bused into the riding and coerced to vote for Dong’s nomination to avoid losing their student visas.

“We talked to the experienced Liberal party volunteer who ran the meeting to see if there was anything out of the usual,” he said. “It was a hotly contested nomination, it was busy. But there was nothing that stood out as abnormal.”

In addition, he said, the intelligence officials did not recommend the party take any measures as a result of the information.

“Hundreds of people had come up to express their democratic will,” said Broadhurst, adding he thought the bar for overturning the result “should be extremely high.”

He said he recommended to Trudeau “that no action be taken,” and the prime minister “decided at that time that there was no action for him to take.”

The hearings are part of the commission of inquiry’s examination of possible foreign interference by China, India, Russia and others in the past two general elections.

Trudeau’s deputy chief of staff, Brian Clow, told the commission he advocated for the public release of a classified document that he believed would clear Dong’s name in relation to a separate allegation.

Dong has been accused of advocating against the immediate release of two Canadians detained in China — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — during a 2021 phone call he had with a Chinese official. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service opted not to release a summary of the call, which Clow said he felt would exonerate Dong.

“If a document is leaked to the media, it appears in the news, that can’t be the last word,” Clow testified Tuesday. “There should be a way to get more facts out so a person can defend themselves and so Canadians can know the truth.”

Dong told the commission last week he didn’t recall the conversation but said he always advocated for the early release of the “two Michaels.”

An initial report of findings from the commission is due May 3.

The prime minister is expected to appear at the inquiry Wednesday.

‘‘ We talked to the experienced Liberal party volunteer who ran the meeting to see if there was anything out of the usual.

JEREMY BROADHURST FEDERAL LIBERAL CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR