TORONTO (TIP): Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton and one of the candidates in the run, says there was no foreign interference in the Conservative Leadership election in 2022.
Appearing before a Parliamentary Committee looking into allegations of foreign interference in the Canadian Conservative Leadership election in which the incumbent Leader of the official Opposition Pierre Poilievre won by 68 per cent of the first vote, Patrick Brown firmly held that foreign interference did not play a role in the 2022 election.
The Parliamentary committee had convened to investigate allegations of foreign interference in Canadian politics, focusing on the 2022 Conservative leadership race.
An earlier report from a national security committee had hinted at possible Indian involvement in influencing the leadership campaign. However, Brown, who initially refused to appear before the committee, addressed these concerns during his testimony while firmly rejecting the idea that foreign meddling impacted the final results of the race.
“I don’t believe foreign intervention affected the outcome of the Conservative leadership race,” Brown stated in his testimony on Thursday, December 5. Stressing the importance of protecting Canadian politics from foreign influence, he held that he did not want to be dragged into partisan disputes in Parliament.
When the Committee asked him early this week to give his testimony as he was a part of the leadership race, Patrick Brown took to social media to comment on the committee’s summons. He maintained that he had no new evidence to contribute to the inquiry and reiterated that the ongoing public inquiry into foreign interference was the appropriate venue for addressing such allegations.
In his testimony, he also clarified that no representatives from the Indian government contacted him or his campaign during the leadership race. Despite the claims of foreign interference, Brown maintained that his campaign faced no external pressures.
The public inquiry into foreign interference, which concluded its hearings earlier this fall, is expected to release a final report in the coming months. Brown, however, was not called as a witness during the inquiry.
Intriguingly, Patrick Brown’s leadership bid in 2022 was marred by allegations related to campaign financing, which led to his disqualification from the race under the Canada Elections Act. The Election Commission decided early this year not to continue with its investigation against Patrick Brown. Patrick Brown, however, continues to advocate for impartial investigations and transparency into the issue as it was both sensitive and important holding that Canada’s political processes must remain free from external influence.