Liberal leadership candidate Ruby Dhalla has rejected allegations of irregularities and foreign interference in her campaign, saying they’re part of a campaign to “discredit” her campaign.
“To all those that think that there may have been any foreign interference in my campaign, I want to make it very clear that there has been none,” Dhalla said in a video posted to social media on Feb. 20.
The Liberal Party has said $21,000 in contributions to Dhalla’s campaign were frozen, as it investigates whether 12 of the donors surpassed maximum contribution amounts.
“When multiple maximum donations are processed on the same credit card, the party reaches out to those donors directly to confirm that these donations were made on the credit card issued from a joint bank account held in the names of both co-donors,” the Liberal Party said in a statement to CBC News.
In an interview on CPAC, Dhalla said there were a few people who donated to her campaign using the same credit card, and there was “nothing wrong with that.” She said the donations came from spouses who shared a joint bank account, which is allowed under Elections Canada rules as long as proper attestations are given.
“It was the Liberal Party of Canada who directly contacted those members to seek that attestation, which is a requirement. So all donations to our campaign have been compliant with Elections Canada,” she said.
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The Liberal Party did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
Dhalla also reacted to reporting from The Globe and Mail, which alleged, citing unnamed Liberal sources, that the Liberal Party sent a list of questions to Dhalla on possible foreign interference in her leadership campaign from the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The article also alleged backroom involvement in her campaign from Brampton Mayor and former Conservative MP Patrick Brown.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, Brown said he’d had “no involvement” with Dhalla’s campaign or the Liberal party. He said while several Liberal leadership candidates had contacted his office for support, they were told, “I had no interest in their leadership race.”
“These candidates all said they were reaching out because of my deep roots in the community, and my many friendships within Ontario’s cultural communities. I thanked them for that but again made clear that my priority is Brampton,” he said.
Dhalla said the allegations in the Globe story are “completely false,” and that the reporting was insinuating that she is involved in foreign interference because of her Indian heritage. Dhalla suggested she was being targeted because she is the “only outsider” running for Liberal leadership.
“I’m not really sure what is going on, or if any attempts are being made to actually discredit our campaign, because when you take a look at all five of the [Liberal leadership] candidates that are running, including myself, I am the only outsider,” she said.
The four other contenders vying for leadership are former Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, Liberal MP Karina Gould, and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis.
Dhalla was formerly a Liberal MP in the riding of Brampton-Springdale from 2004 to 2011, before being defeated by a Conservative candidate. She is currently the CEO of the Dhalla Group.
Voting for the Liberal leadership race is set to open on Feb. 26, and the race will finish on March 9.
