Ever since former Governor General David Johnston released his foreign interference report some 17 months ago, people have been astonished – and mystified — by Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre’s staunch refusal to apply for a security clearance. Johnston himself suggested that all party leaders apply for one, in order to read the complete version of his report and annexes rather than the redacted one. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party leader Elizabeth May promptly did so. (Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet did not apply initially because he opposed the report itself and was calling for a public inquiry.)
Meanwhile Poilievre, despite being the Leader of the Official Opposition, refused to do so. At the time, he argued that if he had a security clearance he would be muzzled, prevented from criticizing the government or attacking the prime minister on this issue. His position was, of course, complete nonsense, as experts noted and as the two other party leaders demonstrated many times over in Question Period in the House of Commons and in media scrums over the next several months.
At the time, the prime minister questioned Poilievre’s decision, asking “Is that a serious leader?” In an interview on CBC, Mr. Trudeau went further, declaring “‘Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is ‘choosing to sit behind a veil of ignorance’ by saying he will not get the security clearance that would allow him to review the intelligence David Johnston accessed in putting together his report on foreign interference in Canadian politics.”[i] Many observers agreed with these comments but Poilievre stuck to his guns, braving the criticism and refusing to discuss the matter further.
Happily for him the issue of foreign interference died down over time as other concerns took centre stage in Ottawa, and Poilievre’s puzzling stand was almost forgotten. Then in June 2024 the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NISCOP) released its Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions. Bloc leader Blanchet almost immediately requested security clearance, and shortly afterwards all three of the other opposition party leaders began commenting on various aspects of the report. Still Mr. Poilievre remained adamantly opposed to joining them.
With the return of Parliament in late September, after the summer recess, one item in particular in that report has captured the attention of parliamentarians and the media, namely, the possibility that some current and former Members of Parliament, Senators, party officials and candidates may have been implicated, “wittingly” or “unwittingly” in various efforts by foreign actors to influence party leadership contests, nomination processes or riding election results. As one media commentator almost immediately speculated, there might be purely partisan reasons why Mr. Poilievre “prefers ignorance to knowledge…. by remaining deliberately ignorant, Mr. Poilievre doesn’t have to actually do anything about foreign meddling in his own party. Indeed, if he learned the specifics of, for example, the alleged interference by India and China in Conservative Party of Canada leadership races, which is mentioned but not detailed in the redacted version of the NSICOP report, he might be expected to clean house, or tweak his party’s policies, or test his parliamentary privilege.”[ii]
But that explanation has appeared less likely with each passing day, as maintaining his defence of ignorance has become increasingly perilous for the Conservative leader. Not only the prime minister, (who stated that Poilievre’s position “defies common sense”), but the leaders of all other opposition parties as well as media commentators have zeroed in on this strange desire not to know what is going on in his own caucus or party. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has said he “does not understand” Poilievre’s refusal, especially since the Conservative leader and his party have been the ones to raise the foreign interference issue repeatedly and aggressively, and have (misleadingly) attacked the government for its “inaction” for nearly two years. At a recent press conference, Singh expanded on that thought, declaring, “You’ve got these serious allegations that a foreign government literally hired gangs in Canada to go out and shoot up people’s homes and people’s businesses, Canadians’ lives are put at risk. Does that sound like the response of a leader who’s taking it seriously, who actually is concerned about safety?”[iii]
Has the Conservative party leader been hoist on his own petard? Having called for another inquiry, and having had it blow up in his face with strong allegations of foreign interference in the leadership race which he won, (the only leadership races that took place during the period examined by the NISCOP were both Conservative –those won by O’Toole and Poilievre) he is now on extremely shaky ground.
This has become painfully obvious in light of Poilievre’s recent attempts to deflect attention away from himself by declaring that his Chief of Staff, Ian Todd, actually has security clearance. As well-known national security expert Wesley Wark immediately pointed out, this was “complete nonsense.” In the first place, Wark explained, CSIS would not share information about party members with a mere staffer who has no source of authority over MPs or others and, even if they did, Mr. Todd would not be able to share that information with Poilievre because he does not have security clearance.[iv]
Not surprisingly, speculation about a different possible explanation for Poilievre’s obstinate refusal has now begun to focus on Poilievre himself. Liberal House Leader Karina Gould finally posed the question many Ottawa insiders have been wanting to ask for some time. Replying to a question from the Conservative leader in the House of Commons, she asked “When we are facing a time when we have to put country first and stand up for Canadians, the Leader of the Opposition is hiding something from Canadians,” she said. “What is it and why is it stopping him from getting his security clearance?”[v]
Ironically, Poilievre’s own foreign affairs critic, Conservative MP Michael Chong, may have inadvertently fanned the flames of this speculation when he spelled out for all Canadians the reasons why an individual might not succeed in receiving such a security clearance. Mr. Chong said “security clearances involve a rigorous process that includes background checks on family members, credit and criminal checks, and intrusive questions about one’s sexual partners or whether they ever used drugs…”[vi]
Rather than change his mind and apply, an increasingly desperate Poilievre is resorting to outrageous accusations that are extreme even for him. He has flatly and repeatedly accused the prime minister of lying under oath during his testimony before the public inquiry into foreign interference chaired by Justice Hogue. (As these remarks were made outside of the House of Commons Poilievre could technically be charged with slander by the prime minister, who instead has chosen to ignore them.) In addition, both Poilievre and Mr. Chong have suggested the reason for Mr. Poilievre’s refusal is now that he is afraid the Liberal government will use information acquired by such a security process for partisan political purposes, once again inadvertently implying that there is actually something Mr. Poilievre does not want to be publicly known. [vii]
It is still too early to tell, but it is certainly beginning to look as if Mr. Poilievre may soon learn why it is never advisable for people in glass houses to throw stones.
[i] https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6853336
[ii] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-pierre-poilievre-can-prove-hes-a-grown-up-and-read-the-nsicop-report/
[iii] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-jagmeet-singh-doesnt-understand-why-pierre-poilievre-wont-get-top/
[iv] https://www.ipolitics.ca/news/poilievres-approach-to-national-security-is-complete-nonsense-says-expert
[v] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-now-its-poilievre-facing-the-fire-on-foreign-interference/
[vi] Robert Fife. “PM, Poilievre Clash Over Security Clearance”, Globe and Mail. October 24, 2024.
[vii] Fife. Op. cit.
