Chinese Conservative Leader Voiced Concern as O’Toole Pulled Ahead of Trudeau in Polls, Internal Emails Reveal

"There’s at least a dozen people I talk to who feel the same way,” National Council member wrote as Conservative Party edged ahead in August 2021

A Hogue Commission document shows an attack advertisement targeting Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in the 2021 federal election, on a digital screen at a Chinese grocery store in the Scarborough-Agincourt riding of Toronto.

OTTAWA, Canada — Explosive internal Conservative Party emails obtained by The Bureau reveal that on August 26, 2021, a senior party official expressed concern over then-leader Erin O'Toole’s breakthrough in the polls—the first time the Conservatives inched ahead of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. This same Ontario-based Chinese Canadian official would later spearhead a petition against O’Toole following the party’s election defeat, while a group of Conservatives simultaneously accused him of alienating Chinese diaspora voters, ultimately contributing to his removal as leader.

Just days before, on August 23, 2021, pollster Nik Nanos described the election as a “dead heat” in his analysis. “You've got to be disappointed if you happen to be a supporter of the Liberals,” Nanos said. “Now the race is on.” By August 26, O’Toole had pulled ahead—a development that prompted suspicious criticism among a subset of Conservative Party officials.

According to The Bureau’s review of emails between Conservative national councillors, a message dated August 26, 2021, shows the Chinese Canadian official voicing concern over reactions to O’Toole’s climb in the polls. The chain began with an internal email titled “Nanos Polling Results Last Night.” One Conservative member wrote, “Erin O’Toole is resonating with the voters for sure, many have made positive comments… I wasn’t getting that in 2019!”

“Last night was the first night that his survey showed us in the lead,” one Conservative national councillor added.

Another party member then forwarded the “Nanos Polling Results Last Night” email chain to the Chinese Canadian official, adding, “This is not making me happy.”

The senior Conservative official replied, “[Another national councillor] and I share your feeling. And there’s at least a dozen people I talk to that feel the same way.”

The Bureau can further confirm that this official was removed from the party after an internal investigation found violations, including interference in nomination contests—a breach of party rules requiring strict neutrality from national councillors.

A Conservative source familiar with O’Toole’s campaign and the subsequent investigation said the findings suggested the Chinese Canadian official “broke neutrality in a nomination race.”

“In addition, it is now becoming clearer that was also a complex way to support candidates that won’t take a hardline on China,” the source suggested. “Given what else we know, a much bigger picture is emerging.”

The source referred broadly to information previously disclosed in a CBC report citing documents from Ottawa’s Hogue Commission inquiry into Chinese election interference. According to CBC, documents noting an interview between O’Toole and lawyers for the Foreign Interference Commission indicate that O’Toole suspected a faction within his party.

“Mr. O’Toole also believes foreign interference played a role in his ouster as party leader,” the document stated, according to CBC. “In the immediate aftermath of the election loss, a petition and public relations campaign against Mr. O’Toole was initiated within 48 hours by a high-profile CPC party member who had served on the national council of the party.”

A public relations campaign, covered by the National Post, included an Ontario-based group representing Conservatives of Chinese descent that urged Erin O’Toole to resign as federal leader, arguing that his hawkish policy on Beijing had alienated Chinese-Canadian voters and cost the party seats. That same narrative was echoed by Conservative leadership hopeful Patrick Brown, who said in a June 2022 Canadian Press report that while O’Toole ran on a vocal promise to adopt a tougher stance than the Liberal government toward Beijing, “The impression in the community was that the Conservative party was against the Chinese Canadian community, so I think there needs to be a clear distinction.”

Meanwhile, Conservative Party members have informed The Bureau that pro-Beijing networks appear to be targeting several Conservative nomination races in Vancouver and Toronto, as leader Pierre Poilievre seems poised to capitalize on the collapse of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government—which has been challenged by reports suggesting Trudeau turned a blind eye to Chinese election interference that endangers Canada’s sovereignty.

The Conservatives did not respond to detailed questions by the deadline for this story.