Elections Chief Says No Capacity to Oversee Party Nominations Amid Foreign Interference Concerns

The chief of Elections Canada says he does not have the resources to oversee party nominations, which have been flagged as vulnerable to foreign interference, and that doing so would impede on political freedom. Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault, who testified at the Foreign Interference Commission on Sept. 24, said there were around 1,500 nomination contests in the last two elections to determine party candidates. “The duration of these are unknown to us; they may be a few hours and a few weeks long, but that varies from party to party,” he said, adding that Elections Canada doesn’t have a permanent decentralized infrastructure to manage the oversight....