Former leader O'Toole's testimony suggests Conservative Senator was colluding with China

Erin O'Toole says he wrestled with removing Senator from caucus but feared allegations of racism

In explosive testimony before the Hogue Commission, former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole revealed serious concerns about a Conservative Senator allegedly promoting the interests of a Chinese state-owned enterprise in Ontario.

O'Toole said a sitting MP had alerted him about the Senator’s lobbying for an economic interest linked to China, sparking concerns about potential foreign interference. O'Toole testified that he considered removing the Senator from caucus but faced significant challenges, including the fear his party would be accused of anti-Asian racism.

The Commission heard this week that an Elections Canada investigation has confirmed that Chinese officials in fact did direct a disinformation campaign accusing the Conservatives and specifically Vancouver-area Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu of racism.

"I spoke to our leader in the Senate and some other members of the Senate. I was exploring removing this member from caucus," O'Toole stated in testimony. "And the challenge I had was I had no intelligence services support. I had allegations that I could not verify. I had no warnings from intelligence agencies if they were aware of it. And the concern that some of my caucus members expressed to me was that if I took a rash decision about removing a member, I could be accused of racism. I could be accused of not allowing someone the right to respond."

The Bureau has learned from political sources the identity of the Ontario-based politician O'Toole was concerned with.

A classified source has also alleged to The Bureau that the Senator in question was assessed by CSIS as a key actor in a Chinese election-interference network in Toronto, which allegedly implicated at least 11 federal candidates from both major parties in the 2019 election.

Previous testimony on Wednesday from Conservative MP Michael Chong and NDP MP Jenny Kwan underscored a movement among some Parliament members who are asking for MPs and Senators cited in a June 2024 intelligence report for allegedly colluding with China to be named in the House of Commons and allowed to defend their actions.

Revealing further details about his concerns with the Senator’s conduct in testimony, O'Toole told a Commission lawyer that:

"As I said earlier, the allegation that there was advocacy or lobbying on behalf of an economic interest was brought to me by an elected member of parliament who had the issue brought to them by one of their mayors, with the mayor saying, ‘Why is this person making inquiries here on behalf of a project that already attracted a little bit of controversy in this small town area?’ And so it accidentally came on our radar because of the report of that mayor."