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Hamilton Spectator
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
B.C.‘s chief electoral officer pushes against ‘false narratives' in 2024 vote
VICTORIA - British Columbia's chief electoral officer has issued a report he says pushes back against 'false narratives' about the 2024 provincial election, as the Opposition BC Conservatives continue to call for an independent review. Anton Boegman said the Oct. 19 provincial election happened during a 'much more challenging' information environment than previous elections. 'Our social media team detected many false online narratives that questioned the integrity of the process,' he said, adding that many of those posts came from outside of British Columbia, including Alberta and Ontario. But Boegman said his office did not track from which part of the political spectrum the posts emerged. He said the online misinformation 'peaked' on Oct. 28 when Elections BC completed the final vote count, when 'normally social media commentary peaks on election day.' Boegman said the falsehoods included claims about many non-citizens voting, widespread multiple voting and extensive fraudulent use of mail-in voting. But he said B.C. had 'well-established and proven processes' to keep elections secure, adding that all voters must affirm their eligibility, including citizenship before registering and voting. He said Elections BC received five complaints about non-Canadians potentially voting, and another 10 non-Canadians attempting to register to vote. 'So that's 15 out of 2.1 million voters that have voted,' he said, adding that his office was investigating the cases. Officials prevent multiple voting by checking voters off lists, and people voting by mail must meet identity and integrity standards, he added. Boegman acknowledged October's election faced challenges and he accepted responsibility for human-caused errors including uncounted and unreported ballots that prompted a partial recount in the riding of Prince George-Mackenzie. 'Elections are messy, to use a word,' he said, and while all election officials receive training, they make mistakes. 'We saw that obviously in our election in the mistakes that were made. We were able to correct them ... and we were transparent about that.' Boegman said the errors did not affect the final results, with Premier David Eby's NDP winning a single-seat majority, but B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said a 'number of errors' put the results in question. 'Now, the election process is what it is,' Rustad said. 'We accept it obviously going forward, but this needs to change, and quite frankly, the truth of this needs to come out.' Rustad added that he hoped a court case by Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa challenging the outcome in Surrey-Guildford would reveal some of the 'too many loopholes' in the system. Randhawa has challenged the 22-vote victory of New Democrat Garry Begg in Surrey-Guildford following a judicial recount in late 2024. Begg's seat gave the NDP its razor-thin majority, but Randhawa has claimed various irregularities. The B.C. Conservative Party is not taking part in the case. Boegman's report mentions the court challenge, noting B.C.'s Supreme Court has yet to hear Randhawa's application to invalidate Begg's election. Should the court rule in favour of Randhawa, a byelection would be held. Boegman said he 'does not want to presuppose' what is going to happen in court. 'We will report on it, depending upon the outcome of that process and the findings from that process,' he said. When asked about Rustad's other claims, Boegman said that he 'will leave the political discussion' to the politicians. 'I will stand by my assertion that the election ... was an accessible election, that it was free, fair and secure.' The report is the first volume in a series of reports into the Oct. 19 vote. It says 'administrative challenges' to the vote included the late withdrawal of the BC United party, extreme weather on voting day and human error. In Prince George-Mackenzie, election officials failed to count a ballot box containing 861 advance votes on election night. The report says the mistake was made after a single ballot was inserted into a box without being tabulated. The mistake was noted and election officials were instructed to reset the tabulator and re-insert all the ballots. However, the report says the instructions were followed incorrectly, and while the retabulated box was counted, a second box containing other advance votes was not. 'Our review determined that while there were contributing factors, the mistakes were a result of election official errors,' the report says of the uncounted box and other errors. It says contributing factors 'included the complexity of our electoral model and the reliance on manual processes for key parts of results reporting, the shortened time between initial count and final count, and the delay in completing a quality assurance report at (Elections BC) HQ.' 'These factors were exacerbated by the long working hours and extreme weather event on final voting day,' it says. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.
Global News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Elections BC report pushes back against ‘false narratives' over 2024 provincial vote
British Columbia's chief electoral officer has issued a report he says pushes back against 'false narratives' about the 2024 provincial election, as the Opposition BC Conservatives continue to call for an independent review. Anton Boegman said the Oct. 19 provincial election happened during a 'much more challenging' information environment than previous elections. 'Our social media team detected many false online narratives that questioned the integrity of the process,' he said, adding that many of those posts came from outside of British Columbia, including Alberta and Ontario. But Boegman said his office did not track from which part of the political spectrum the posts emerged. 2:10 BC Conservatives file complaint about alleged 'voting irregularities' in Surrey-Guilford riding He said the online misinformation 'peaked' on Oct. 28 when Elections BC completed the final vote count, when 'normally social media commentary peaks on election day.' Story continues below advertisement Boegman said the falsehoods included claims about many non-citizens voting, widespread multiple voting and extensive fraudulent use of mail-in voting. But he said B.C. had 'well-established and proven processes' to keep elections secure, adding that all voters must affirm their eligibility, including citizenship before registering and voting. He said Elections BC received five complaints about non-Canadians potentially voting, and another 10 non-Canadians attempting to register to vote. 'So that's 15 out of 2.1 million voters that have voted,' he said, adding that his office was investigating the cases. Officials prevent multiple voting by checking voters off lists, and people voting by mail must meet identity and integrity standards, he added. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Boegman acknowledged October's election faced challenges and he accepted responsibility for human-caused errors including uncounted and unreported ballots that prompted a partial recount in the riding of Prince George-Mackenzie. 'Elections are messy, to use a word,' he said, and while all election officials receive training, they make mistakes. 'We saw that obviously in our election in the mistakes that were made. We were able to correct them … and we were transparent about that.' Boegman said the errors did not affect the final results, with Premier David Eby's NDP winning a single-seat majority, but B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said a 'number of errors' put the results in question. Story continues below advertisement 2:13 B.C. Conservatives allege 'irregularities' in 2024 provincial election 'Now, the election process is what it is,' Rustad said. 'We accept it obviously going forward, but this needs to change, and quite frankly, the truth of this needs to come out.' Rustad added that he hoped a court case by Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa challenging the outcome in Surrey-Guildford would reveal some of the 'too many loopholes' in the system. Randhawa has challenged the 22-vote victory of New Democrat Garry Begg in Surrey-Guildford following a judicial recount in late 2024. Begg's seat gave the NDP its razor-thin majority, but Randhawa has claimed various irregularities. The B.C. Conservative Party is not taking part in the case. Boegman's report mentions the court challenge, noting B.C.'s Supreme Court has yet to hear Randhawa's application to invalidate Begg's election. Should the court rule in favour of Randhawa, a byelection would be held. Story continues below advertisement Boegman said he 'does not want to presuppose' what is going to happen in court. 'We will report on it, depending upon the outcome of that process and the findings from that process,' he said. When asked about Rustad's other claims, Boegman said that he 'will leave the political discussion' to the politicians. 'I will stand by my assertion that the election … was an accessible election, that it was free, fair and secure.' The report is the first volume in a series of reports into the Oct. 19 vote. It says 'administrative challenges' to the vote included the late withdrawal of the BC United party, extreme weather on voting day and human error. In Prince George-Mackenzie, election officials failed to count a ballot box containing 861 advance votes on election night. The report says the mistake was made after a single ballot was inserted into a box without being tabulated. The mistake was noted and election officials were instructed to reset the tabulator and re-insert all the ballots. However, the report says the instructions were followed incorrectly, and while the retabulated box was counted, a second box containing other advance votes was not. 'Our review determined that while there were contributing factors, the mistakes were a result of election official errors,' the report says of the uncounted box and other errors. Story continues below advertisement It says contributing factors 'included the complexity of our electoral model and the reliance on manual processes for key parts of results reporting, the shortened time between initial count and final count, and the delay in completing a quality assurance report at (Elections BC) HQ.' 'These factors were exacerbated by the long working hours and extreme weather event on final voting day,' it says.
South China Morning Post
30-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Canada cannot decouple from China or de-risk from the US
By securing a full term as Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney's election victory says a lot about the interesting times that we – both Canadians and non-Canadians – live in. Like the other English-speaking Commonwealth countries, he faces a United States that is no longer their protector but predator, and a China that is both a threat and a trade partner. Advertisement Still, Carney has much to thank Donald Trump for. Without the bombastic US president who vowed to make their country America's 51st state, thus angering Canadians, Carney probably would never have become prime minister. Trump couldn't keep his mouth shut even before the last voting day by repeating his promise to make Canada part of the US. As an unnamed Carney adviser was quoted in the news, 'Trump is the gift that keeps on giving.' But that's also a whole new reality for Canadians – an openly hostile America. Carney is now facing many of the same challenges as his Anglo counterparts – Keir Starmer in the UK and Anthony Albanese in Australia where the latter may secure a Carney-like election win this weekend, again thanks to Trump's provocations. All three are being squeezed between the two rival superpowers. They could talk tough against China when Uncle Sam was on their side. Now they are on their own and have to learn a new trick like the rest of the world – how to balance interests and threats between Washington and Beijing. Advertisement Three-quarters of Canadian exports are shipped south of the border; China is Canada's second-largest trading partner. When asked about that, he talked tough and hinted that there were trade alternatives. 'There are huge opportunities in Europe, in Asean, Mercosur, other parts of the world,' he said. But like many other countries, it's practically impossible to divorce from your Nos 1 and 2 trading partners. Neither decoupling from China nor derisking from the US is really an option.
CBC
05-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ottawa moves to guard businesses against hostile takeovers during trade war
Social Sharing Canada's industry minister is looking to block what he calls "predatory investment behaviour" as the trade war with the United States continues. François-Philippe Champagne warned Wednesday that Canadian businesses could be at risk due to the sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. "As a result of the rapidly shifting trade environment, some Canadian businesses could see their valuations decline, making them susceptible to opportunistic or predatory investment behaviour by non-Canadians," he said in a statement posted to the social media platform X. He said if critically important firms are compromised, it could jeopardize Canada's economic security. Champagne said he is updating the Investment Canada Act (ICA) so that the federal government must consider economic security as a factor when deciding whether a deal can go ahead. The ICA is Ottawa's tool to weigh whether a proposed investment by a foreign actor will benefit Canada's economy. The act already requires the federal government to consider the national security impacts of proposed investments. Champagne said Wednesday that economic security amounts to national security. He said the update will allow Canada to reject foreign investments that could harm the Canadian economy or workers. Champagne said the ICA changes look to strike a balance between encouraging foreign investment and safeguarding the country's national interests. The move comes one day after the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods, with a 10 per cent levy on energy exports, prompting a wave of retaliatory tariffs from Canada.
Bloomberg
05-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Canada Expands Foreign Takeover Oversight Amid Tariff Dispute
Canada is expanding its criteria for intervention in foreign investment, adding a provision that would allow it to reject purchases and takeovers that it views as posing harm to the country's broader 'economic security.' 'As a result of a rapidly shifting trade environment, some Canadian businesses could see their valuations decline, making them susceptible to opportunistic or predatory investment behavior by non-Canadians,' Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne wrote on social media Wednesday.
