A Canadian inquiry commission on Tuesday accused India of interfering in the country’s electoral process by clandestinely providing financial support to political leaders and engaging in disinformation.

The Indian foreign ministry rejected the commission’s report, and alleged that it was in fact Canada that was consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs.

The Canadian inquiry commission, tasked with investigating “foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions”, alleged that India was the second most active country after China that was interfering with Canada’s electoral process.

“Like the PRC [People’s Republic of China], India conducts foreign interference through diplomatic officials in Canada and through proxies,” the report, authored by Marie-Josée Hogue, a judge at the Quebec Court of Appeal, said.

The commission alleged that proxy agents may have, and may continue to be, secretly extending illicit financial support to certain Canadian politicians “in an attempt to secure the election of pro-India candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office”.

However, it added that intelligence did not indicate that the officials or candidates were aware of the alleged interference attempts.

The inquiry also accused India of using disinformation as a key form of foreign interference against Canada, and said that the tactic may be used more often in the future.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday evening rejected the report’s “insinuations” about the country.

“It is in fact Canada which has been consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs,” the foreign ministry said. “This has also created an environment for illegal migration and organised criminal activities.”

Besides India and China, the report also names Russia, Pakistan and Iran as other countries that attempted to interfere in Canadian politics.

“They target Canadian diaspora communities and attempt to influence voting, silence dissent, amplify preferred state narratives, control public opinion and sow discord,” the report alleged.

The report was the result of a probe initiated in September 2023 following media reports about alleged meddling by foreign countries in Canada’s general elections in the 2019 and 2021 elections – both of which were won by the ruling Liberals.

In May, the commission released an interim report calling the foreign interference a “stain” on Canada's electoral process.

The final report comes just six weeks before the Liberal Party selects a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who resigned from his post on January 6. Canada’s next federal elections have to be held before October this year.

These developments come amidst strained diplomatic ties between India and Canada, which broke down in 2023 after the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver.

In September 2023, the Canadian prime minister told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s murder.

In February last year as well, Canada also accused India of trying to influence democratic processes in Canada. The Indian government rejected these allegations.