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OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Monday the most popular news account on Chinese social media platform WeChat was pushing false narratives about Prime Minister Mark Carney in a bid to influence the Canadian election campaign.
"The information operation targeting Mr. Carney is deliberately amplifying narratives in a coordinated and inauthentic way on WeChat, to Chinese audiences, including communities living in Canada," the government's Privy Council Office said.
In a statement, Ottawa said the account had targeted Carney's experience and credentials in a bid to manipulate Chinese voters. The effort would not affect the course of the April 28 election, it added.
The messaging is being spread by the Youli-Youmian account, Canada said, citing intelligence reporting that linked the outlet to the Chinese Communist Party.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said they were unaware of the information operation.
"It is simply absurd and unjustified to launch (a) groundless smear and attack against the Chinese government on the basis of individual remarks on a social media platform. China firmly opposes this and will never accept it," the spokesperson said in an email.
The spokesperson said China adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and has never interfered in Canadian internal affairs.
U.S. tariffs against Canadian goods and the incumbent Liberal Party's selection of Carney to replace unpopular former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have thrown open the race that was previously led by the Conservatives.
According to the 2021 census, there were 1.7 million people of Chinese descent in Canada, or 4.7% of the population. The ethnic Chinese vote is important in parliamentary constituencies in big cities such as Vancouver and Toronto.
Canada said last month China was likely to try to interfere in the vote. Beijing, which has poor relations with Ottawa, has denied previous allegations of meddling.
The Youli-Youmian account had also engaged in "malign behavior" in June 2023 and January 2025, targeting senior Canadian politicians.
Canada will raise its concerns with Tencent, the developer of WeChat, the government said.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Rod Nickel and Chris Reese)
