Elections Canada has told True North that the Liberals didn’t violate any “specific prohibitions” after being caught conducting a covert operation to plant fake campaign buttons at a recent conference in a bid to link the Conservatives to U.S. President Donald Trump.
True North contacted Elections Canada to see whether such an attempt violated its “prohibitions against impersonation” which include scenarios whereby a “person transmits material that purports to be from a candidate or party.”
An Elections Canada spokesperson responded by saying that political entities “should be aware of the political financing rules related to election expenses.”
“For example, the costs associated with the production and transmission of communications aiming to promote or oppose the election of a party or candidate are regulated and are therefore subject to a limit and must be reported on,” Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna told True North.
“There are also some prohibitions against impersonation, including certain cases where a person transmits material that purports to be from a candidate or party.”
The scandal came to light after two Liberal party staffers were overheard boasting at a bar about planting the buttons at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa last week.
The buttons were designed to echo controversial slogans by Trump to tarnish the Conservative’s image by suggesting they supported election denialism and arresting political opponents.
Several attendees noticed the buttons appearing during the event, which said things like “stop the steal,” a reference to Trump’s claims that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen from him by the Democrats.
Another button read, “Lock Justin Up” referencing a popular Trump campaign chant, “Lock her up” from the 2016 election about former Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
True North further contacted the Commissioner of Elections Canada to inquire about whether an investigation into the scandal was ongoing.
“Due to the confidentiality provisions in the Canada Elections Act I’m not able to confirm whether the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections has received a complaint or initiated an investigation about the issue” a spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections told True North.
“If the circumstances fall within the parameters set out in the Canada Elections Act, then a review or investigation may be initiated.”
Whether or not an investigation is underway, the two Liberal staffers responsible remain employed by the Liberal party, as confirmed by Leader Mark Carney on Monday.
He was asked by a reporter how much such a trick might “undermine the trust in the way that the Liberals operate” and what he’s done since to reprimand his staff.
“This is totally unacceptable,” Carney answered. “On behalf of my campaign, I was unaware of this behaviour, but on behalf of my campaign, I apologize for it unreservedly.”
Carney went on to say that he’s made it “clear” to his campaign that such behaviour was unacceptable and “cannot happen again.” Carney then indicated that staffers involved had been “reassigned.”
The apology from Carney came only after days of mounting pressure from both media and political opponents.
The Liberal party initially responded to the scandal by saying that two campaigners “regrettably got carried away” with the use of buttons “poking fun” at reports of Conservative party infighting.