On September 7, 2023 the Government of Canada established the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions. Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal, was appointed Commissioner.
The Commission will undertake its work in two phases. The first phase will focus on the interference that China, Russia and other foreign actors may have engaged in, and any impact it may have had on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The Commission will also examine and assess the flow of information within the federal government in relation to these issues, and evaluate the actions taken in response.
In the second phase, the Commission will examine the capacity of federal departments, agencies, institutional structures, and governance processes to permit the Government of Canada to detect, deter and counter such interference.
The Commission will hold public hearings in early 2024 and in the fall of 2024.
The Order in Council 2023-0882 requires that the Commission submit an Interim Report by February 29, 2024, and a Final Report by December 31, 2024. The Order in Council 2023-1316 extended the deadline for the Commission’s Interim Report to May 3, 2024.