Trudeau says Canadians should be 'wary' of leaders who say foreign interference hasn't touched their teams

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks to reporters at the Ukraine peace summit media centre at the Burgenstock Resort in Obburgen, Switzerland on Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians should be wary of political leaders who say their parties haven't been compromised by foreign interference.

Last week — after reading the classified, unredacted version of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh suggested to reporters that he didn't have to worry about members of his caucus.

In an interview with CBC's Power & Politics on Monday, Trudeau questioned that assertion.

"I didn't know Jagmeet said that," the prime minister told host David Cochrane. "I would be wary of any party leader drawing any sort of conclusion like that."

Two weeks ago, NSICOP — a cross-partisan committee of MPs and senators — released a heavily blacked-out document alleging, based on intelligence, that some parliamentarians have been "semi-witting or witting" participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics.

Trudeau did not answer when asked whether members of his party were named in the NSICOP report.

"I am implying that interference in our parliamentarians goes beyond party lines, from many different sources," he said.