Liberal MP says he won his riding 'fair and square' after rival tells committee he was undermined by Beijing

Liberal MP Parm Bains said he won his B.C. riding in the last election "fair and square" after his former opponent told a parliamentary committeeforeign interference by Beijing played a role in his victory.

Bains sits on the Commons ethics committee and was sitting across the table when former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu told MPson the committee Fridayhe believed Bains was the "beneficiary" of a disinformation campaign he suspects was tied to the Chinese Communist Partyduring the2021 election campaign.

"I would say it played a role in my defeat," Chiu told the committee.

CBC Newsasked Bains ifhe thought foreign interference played a part in the election outcome in his riding.

"No, not at all," he replied while walking away from the cameras. In his first public comment on the matter, Bainsinsisted his win inSteveston-Richmond East in 2021 was "fair and square."

His comment came after a two-hour committee hearing onforeign interference during whichChiu sat alongside national security experts and shared his personal experience. Thefederal government has been under intense public scrutiny for weeks over its handling of Beijing's attempts to meddle in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Chiu has spoken outabout his belief that the Chinese Communist Party targeted him during his 2021 campaign in retaliation for putting forward a private member's bill to introduce a foreign agent registry that Beijing opposed.

Chiu told MPs he went to CSISduring the campaign toreporta "significant amount of disinformation" spreading on the popular messaging apps WeChat and WhatsApptargetinghim and the Conservative Party.

"I've been mischaracterized as someone who's anti-Chinese," Chiusaid of the posts. "Even hating Chinese. That I must not be allowed to be re-elected."

The messages, Chiu said, also targeted the Conservative leader at the time, Erin O'Toole, by suggesting thathewould ban WeChat if he became prime minister, jeopardizing the diaspora's ability to connect with family in China anddo business.

Bains told the committee anyone running for public officecan be targeted.

"As candidates, we're all victims of misinformation or disinformation when we're in an election," Bains told MPs. "There was a campaign against me [claiming] that I was going to legalize hard drugs and things of that nature."

Bains also pushed back againstclaims thathis riding was targeted due toalarge Chinese-Canadian community living there. Bains told MPs he's lived there his "entire life" and called it a "very mixed community."He pointed to a five-kilometrecorridor in the city with 28 different religious institutions,popularly known asthe "highway to heaven."

The local newspaper in Richmondquestioned Bains decision tosit beside the People's Republic of China's Consul General Yang Shu in November 2022 at a Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations event.

In a response sent to the Richmond News, Bains said "the event in question was advertised as a way to recognize the charitable efforts of numerous organizations toward flood relief, Richmond Hospital and numerous contributions to our local community."

"That is all I attended for," he added,sayinghe takes the issue of foreign interference seriously.

WATCH:Former MP says he's a victim of election interference by China

Former MP tells committee he was undermined by foreign inference

1 year ago

Duration 1:59

Politicians investigating foreign interference in Canadas elections heard from former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, who said he believes meddling by Beijing played a role in his loss. He testified in front of the MP who he alleges benefitted from that interference.

Bloc Qubcois MP Ren Villemure asked Chiu if Bains's presence atthe committee hearing during his testimony constituted a conflict of interest. Chiu said that was a question for Bains.

Bains didn't respond during the committee. Afterwards, he told CBC News "there's no conflict here." He thenleft, saying he had to catch a flight.

Before that,Bains walked up to Chiu and shook his hand in what appeared to be afriendly encounter.

Chiu said during the committee hearing that being a beneficiaryofChinese Communist Party political interference "does not necessarily mean collusion."

Chiu told CBC News he isn't sure he'd run again without assurances that theforeign interference problem hasbeen addressed.

"If I run again and yet face similar disinformation, or the diaspora community is still open for exploitation and manipulation, what good is that?" he said.

Chiu saidCSIS never got back to him after he reported his case.

"I feel I'm vulnerable," Chiu said. "That my government's not there to protect me when it's needed."

When Chiu was asked if had faced any overt threats, he said someone broke into his home in 2019 and stole some items,just days before voting day.

A local news article from that time shows a photo of Chiu reunited with his dog after his home's security systemwas disabled, his home was ransackedand his dog got out while he was at a volunteer appreciation dinner.

Chiu said he tries to "think positive" and wouldn't consider the break-in to be linked toforeign interference.

The committee is now on a break for the next two weeks.