Security task force says it saw ‘small scale’ foreign meddling during federal vote

OTTAWA — A new report from a federal security task force says foreign interference activities during the last general election were “small scale” and often difficult to attribute to an actor from abroad.

The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force includes representatives of Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP and the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s cyberspy agency.

Under a federal protocol, a panel of senior bureaucrats had the power to warn the public during the election campaign if it decided one or more incidents threatened Canada’s ability to hold a free and fair vote.

No such announcement was made during the 2025 campaign, which ended with the election of a minority Liberal government led by Mark Carney.

The panel of bureaucrats includes the clerk of the Privy Council, the national security and intelligence adviser, the deputy attorney general and the deputy ministers of public safety and foreign affairs.

Known as the “panel of five,” it received regular updates from the security task force during the election campaign.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2025.