Rachel Aiello
Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named former governor general David Johnston as the new independent special rapporteur on foreign interference.
Tasked with helping protect the integrity of Canada's democracy, Trudeau has announced his intention to appoint Johnston, following consultations with all parties in the House of Commons.
Trudeau had signalled on Tuesday that the person named for this role—which he first announced last week—would be revealed soon.
"In this new role, Mr. Johnston will have a wide mandate to look into foreign interference in the last two federal general elections and make expert recommendations on how to further protect our democracy and uphold Canadians’ confidence in it," read the release from Trudeau's office.
"We will be working with Mr. Johnston to finalize his mandate in the coming days, and it will be made public."
Johnston was Canada's 28th governor general between 2010 and 2017, appointed by then-prime minister Stephen Harper after a long career as a law professor.
Then, in 2018 Trudeau tapped Johnston to be the Leaders’ Debates Commissioner, helming the independent body that organized the 2019 and 2021 official federal election leadership debates.
He will be stepping down from that role to take on this new position.
One of his first orders of business will be to recommend to Trudeau whether a formal inquiry or other form of probe or judicial review is the best next step.
In 2007, Johnston undertook similar work when Harper announced he'd be a special adviser drafting the terms of reference for a public inquiry into the Airbus affair.
Noting the mixed views among Canadians and experts around a public inquiry, Trudeau has vowed that the Liberals would "abide by" the guidance of the person chosen on whether an inquiry is needed and, if so, what its mandate and scope should be.
The position is part of a suite of measures Trudeau has rolled out in an effort to assuage concerns over alleged election meddling by China during the last two federal campaigns.