“Foreign interference has a longstanding history in Canadian elections. Understanding what is and is not new about current efforts may help to turn down the heat and focus more on how Canadians can make their own decisions this election.”
As Canada heads toward an April 28 federal election, threats of foreign interference and misinformation loom. In a new op-ed titled “Foreign interference threats in Canada’s federal election are both old and new,” Prof. Heidi Tworek (SPPGA; History) and Chris Tenove (Research Associate and Instructor) from the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions explain what foreign interference is and how it can affect elections.
Covering historical cases as well as the contemporary introduction of more technology-driven mechanisms, they explore the many tactics of interference as well as ways to address them including the expansion of existing detection systems, proactive government initiative, as well as the increased regulation of social media platforms. Amidst these concerns, Tworek and Tenove advise Canadians to vote based on their own “well-informed priorities, worries and aspirations,” and provide reassurance of our nation’s democratic resilience. Read the full op-ed here.
Screenshot from Prof. Heidi Tworek’s interview with CBC
Prof. Tworek further offers her expertise in an article titled “Return of on-campus early voting spurs hopes more ballots will be cast by young adults” for CBC News, noting that although online misinformation is pervasive, it may be less influential than we believe. She also appears on CTV News‘ publication “Surprises and old patterns: AI and misinformation in the 2025 federal election campaign” where she speaks on the harm of prolific AI-generated content in promoting misinformation. Tworek further provides expert opinion in a CTV News video titled “Officials warn Carney targeted by a Chinese WeChat ‘operation’,” and is featured in an episode for the Spice podcast on Apple Podcasts, titled “This is the First Canadian Federal Election of the Generative AI Age So How Do We Navigate It?.”
Chris Tenove is featured in a Vancouver Sun article titled “Election interference: China switches tactics to promote Mark Carney, says B.C. target.” He discusses different ways that foreign interference might take place online. Regarding recent posts about Liberal Party leader Mark Carney that were amplified on Chinese social media, Tenove comments that it’s not clear whether they were trying to help or harm Carney, but “it’s fair in this campaign for the Conservatives to claim […] we should be alert to Chinese interference.” He provides further comments for The Hill Times in an article titled “Foreign interference risks must be addressed before voters go to polls, warns democracy watchdog, but Wark says holding off on election right now would be ‘ridiculous’, and is featured in a CBC article titled “All Political Parties Have a Part to Play in Condemning Violence, Says Researcher” where he speaks out about the increasing online abuse faced by Canadian politicians.
Learn more about the research of Heidi Tworek and Chris Tenove.
