In Brampton, foreign interference this election season reminds residents that communities can be easily divided

Brampton is a city where foreign influence has long strengthened its roots, and, unfortunately, weakened its cohesion. Foreign interference in our elections has once again drawn attention, and in a place with so many direct ties to countries that wish to meddle in Canada’s affairs, Brampton residents have grown wary of the politics too often played by bad international actors.

Following a 16-month investigation into foreign interference, the Hogue commission released its report in January, warning Canadians that our elections continue to be targeted by other countries, particularly China and India. 

Evidence of candidates being influenced, often without knowing it, and groups in the country working secretively to use Canadian politicians to further the goals of governing parties in Beijing and New Delhi, along with efforts in other countries, was presented months before the federal election. 

Then, last week Canada’s Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections task force reported that Chinese messaging app WeChat saw activity targeting Mark Carney spike in March, first after he won the Liberal leadership race and then two days after he triggered the election. It is believed that the Chinese government is behind the interference, which is aimed at influencing the election.

Brampton residents were drawn into the consequences of foreign interference late last year when dramatic, violent clashes between those who support India’s Hindu Nationalist BJP government and Sikhs advocating for independence in India broke out at a Hindu Temple and out on the streets during a tense week of confrontations.

Protests broke out in Brampton late last year following violent clashes between supporters of India’s Hindu Nationalist BJP government and Sikhs advocating for independence in India.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer files)

Fear and frustration has swept Canada’s Sikh community since the 2023 assassination of activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed after the Indian government allegedly orchestrated a plot to harass and eliminate Sikh targets in North America. 

Foreign interference was the subject of a Parliamentary hearing that involved Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who had to be forced to testify, after initially refusing. 

He eventually admitted to succumbing to interference by the BJP government in India in 2022, when he was campaigning to become the Conservative Party of Canada leader. Brown told Parliamentarians, under oath, that he had agreed to change his wording about Sikhs when he spoke in their temples during the campaign, after pressure was put on him by Indian officials. He was eventually disqualified from the race for allegedly violating financial rules established by the party. Brown had hoped to be the Conservative candidate in the current election.

The fallout of foreign interference has created intense division in Brampton.

Kuldeep Singh, spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, says candidates must be honest about where their support is coming from if they want to build trust in a city as politically complex as Brampton.

“It's not illegal to donate to anyone's campaign. It's legal, but make it transparent on a website. Hey, the PC Party received donations from these organizations and these individuals, right? And the Liberal Party received donations from these groups of people, or these organizations, community organizations, the candidates should be able to make it public and transparent. Who is supporting their campaigns, who is supporting that candidate?"

He further emphasized, "Make it mandatory so that one can look, ‘hey, are local grassroots organizations funding this individual? And if they are, what are their connections to foreign entities?’”

Candidates, he said, must uphold their oath to Canada’s democratic principles by rejecting any foreign influence.

"I think if you're running for office, your number one mandate should be Canada. First, you take an oath of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Secondly, if you're ever approached, your duty should be to report it to the proper authorities…If a delegate from another country is looking to meet with you, fund you and send you any money, report all of that.”

Foreign interference is fuelled by disinformation campaigns pushed through social media platforms like Facebook which announced in January it was abandoning the use of independent fact checkers, potentially exacerbating this problem.

The Sikh community in Brampton, Singh said, has long been the target of disinformation campaigns, particularly by the Indian government he alleges. He warns that these narratives are not just stoking anti-Sikh sentiment, but actively manipulating the outcome of elections by influencing how communities vote, especially in Brampton ridings where ethno-religious dynamics are partly shaped by international tensions.

"A lot of propaganda is propped up against certain candidates so that the neighbouring communities of that riding don't vote for a select candidate," he said. "For example, if there's a Sikh candidate running in Brampton, you would think the Sikhs are the only community that are going to vote for him, but there may be Hindu members of the community or Muslim members of the community looking to vote for that individual, but a lot of the foreign interference, especially from India, targets that…propping up negative stories and negative associations so that the vote can be skewed towards a candidate that the Indian government or Chinese governments are backing."

Mehmet Tohti, a Uyghur Canadian activist, told The Pointer that the Chinese government uses different tactics to influence Canadian politics.

"It is clear that there is systematic and widespread foreign interference, infiltration, and influence operations in Canada," he said. "We know that from (municipal councillor) to provincial MPP to federal MPs and the Senate, there are well-documented, pro-Communist Party politicians, some of them already under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party." 

Mehmat Tohti, a Uyghur-Canadian activist, told The Pointer that unique tactics are used by Chinese officials to harass and threaten Canadians. 

(Supplied)

He told The Pointer these highly influential Chinese officials sometimes use physical oppression against community members and abduct their families back home.

“There are numerous examples, and from digital surveillance to physical harassment and transnational repression to disinformation and misinformation and fabrication, all sorts of defamation and sometimes using your family members as a threat and a hostage taken to compel you to do something against your will. So there are numerous tactics the Chinese government has been using and is still using in Canada."

India’s interference has taken a its own form, using diaspora networks and political financing to establish influence. 

A recent article by Global News reported that Indo-Canadian political figure Aditya Tawatia donated thousands of dollars to the leadership campaign of Pierre Poilievre in 2022, according to Elections Canada records. Tawatia, who initiated a now-defunct organization named “Overseas Friends of BJP Canada,” also supported Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his elections. Patrick Brown has publicly credited the same overseas BJP group with helping his political career. Although the organization was dissolved, its founders later changed the name to Canada India Global Forum, whose main responsibilities were to boost the image of Modi and the BJP in Canada and target former prime minister Justin Trudeau for the strained relations between the two countries. When asked about the donations to his campaign and Tawatia’s connections, Poilievre said the Conservative party did not have the capacity to do “CSIS background checks” on the thousands of people who donate.    

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre greets supporters in Brampton during a campaign stop earlier this week.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer) 

Jeff Lal, a People’s Party of Canada candidate in the Brampton East riding, emphasized that candidates should always prioritize Canada, rather than their motives connected to other countries and other affiliations.

"We are talking about Canada first," he said. “Religion is not to be brought out on the streets, and we should not be fighting for anything based on religion in this country. We have left our home; we left all our countries to come to Canada to adopt the system and the culture of Canada, not to bring what we want to practice. Canada is a democratic country."

Jeff Lal, a Brampton East candidate with the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), spoke with The Pointer and emphasized that every candidate’s priority should be Canadian issues rather than their foreign affiliations.

(Supplied) 

"I'm very blunt about that,” he continued. “The leaders are pandering, and going to different places of worship, asking for votes, they are dividing the people. Why do you need to go to a place of worship looking for votes? The leaders should not be even part of any of the places of worship. They should look at all Canadians as one, under one platform, under one umbrella, under one roof, that you are all Canadians.”

The Pointer's 2025 federal election coverage is partly supported by the Covering Canada: Election 2025 Fund. 

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