Election Watch - Carney's Election as Liberal Leader

Election Watch by Digital Public Square is a series of reports based on our ongoing monitoring of online narratives promoting extremism, violence, and polarization amid the upcoming Canadian federal election.

This post was made in collaboration with Revontulet.

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What’s the narrative?

“Carney’s election as Liberal leader was rigged.” This narrative falsely alleges that now-Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election as Liberal leader was illegitimate. Promoters of this narrative cast doubt on the Liberal Party’s election process to suggest that Carney was selected as leader by party elites or the Chinese government rather than in a vote by party members.

To justify these false claims, they question the Liberal Party’s relatively open membership requirements, and claim that “foreigners” or “foreign children”, rather than Canadians, voted for him. Specifically, promoters misrepresent the Liberal Party’s voting rules to suggest that anyone in the world as young as 14 could vote in the election. Some also cite information operations linked to the Chinese government or raise questions about the riding-level voting results as further evidence that Carney’s election was illegitimate.

Many critics have argued that the Liberal Party’s membership requirements are too relaxed and risk making the party vulnerable to foreign interference. For instance, the Chair of Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) has said that internal party elections are the most vulnerable part of Canada’s electoral system to foreign interference. Promoters of the rigged election narrative sometimes distort or cherry pick legitimate criticisms like these to delegitimize the entire election process.

Some promoters of the rigged election narrative also say that the Liberal Party “installed” Carney as Prime Minister undemocratically because he does not currently hold a seat in the House of Commons. By law, prime ministers do not need to hold a seat in parliament. However, according to Canadian political conventions, they will seek elected office in an election or byelection soon after assuming the position. Carney is running in Ottawa’s Nepean riding in the upcoming election.

Who’s promoting the narrative?

According to our ongoing monitoring of online discourse, this narrative is primarily being discussed by right-wing news websites, and right-wing opinion leaders and users on social media. We have identified it most commonly on X. The main objective of the narrative appears to be to erode trust in and support for Carney and the Liberal Party amid the election.

In social media discourse surrounding the narrative, we have observed users frequently refer to Carney as an “agent of China” or a “business partner” of Xi Jinping. They echo longstanding social media narratives surrounding the Liberal Party and former prime minister Justin Trudeau as being overly friendly with China.

Narratives about Carney being “installed” are not limited to allegations about Liberal Party machinations or the Chinese government. For example, we have observed a narrative on far-right Telegram channels alleging that Carney was “picked” by US President Donald Trump. This was largely in response to comments from Trump stating “I’d rather deal with a liberal than a conservative” on March 18, 2025 and that he had a productive call with Carney, on March 28, 2025.

Why’s it important?

Narratives that misrepresent legitimate political processes as elite conspiracies can negatively impact democratic institutions in multiple ways.

First, they undermine trust in democracy by making people feel that democracy is a facade and that their participation doesn’t matter. When people view the outcome of an election as predetermined, this can breed apathy and alienation in democracy, or, in extreme cases, radicalization.

Second, these narratives lay the groundwork for denialists to call election results illegitimate if their favoured party does not win. Besides casting doubt on Carney’s election as Liberal leader, the narrative sets the stage for questioning the legitimacy of the upcoming federal election results as a whole. The January 6 Capitol attack in the US following the 2020 presidential election is an example of how election denialism can lead to violence and extremism.

Third, unfounded or exaggerated accusations of foreign interference can lead to xenophobia and intolerance. Canada has faced real threats of foreign interference during this election cycle, including incidents involving the Chinese and Indian governments. Inaccurate and polarized discourse surrounding foreign interference, however, politicizes the challenge of foreign interference and makes responding to these incidents more difficult as a result.

Digital Public Square does not include links to or screenshots of content promoting extremism, violence, and polarization so that it is not amplified.