No evidence federal election was affected by foreign interference, commissioner says

OTTAWA — Canada’s elections commissioner says she has no evidence the result of the federal election in April was affected by foreign interference, disinformation or voter intimidation.

In a preliminary report today, Commissioner Caroline Simard says her office received more than 16,000 complaints about the spring campaign which ended on April 28.

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That number is seven times the number of complaints received in the 2019 and 2021 elections.

Still, early numbers show the volume of complaints for foreign interference, artificial intelligence, disinformation, and voter intimidation, was less than what Simard’s office had expected.

Other complaints included allegations of preventing election advertising from being broadcast, distributing pictures of ballots, or publishing false statements about candidates.

Through April, Simard’s office had already closed about 2,300 files.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press