(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s ruling Liberal Party is reviewing how it picks its next leader, set to be the next prime minister, after Justin Trudeau announced Monday he plans to resign.
It’s facing concerns the contest is too open to foreign interference.
The current rulebook sets out a vote with almost no bars to entry. To join the Liberal Party you don’t need to be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or even pay an entry fee. You just need to be 14 or older, live in Canada, and state you support the Liberals without supporting another party.
That’s ringing alarm bells after an official inquiry called the Hogue Commission found evidence of foreign interference from China and other countries in recent Canadian elections. It hasn’t yet published its final report, due by Jan. 31.
But heading into an all-day meeting Wednesday to discuss the contest rules, several Liberal lawmakers voiced support for restricting the vote to permanent residents and citizens.
“Knowing what we know now — I’m not sure exactly what’s going to be in the Hogue report coming out — but those are some of the vulnerabilities that we can address right now to ensure and give confidence to Canadians,” said West Vancouver representative Patrick Weiler. It’s harder to implement a membership fee, but it will be discussed, he said.
Toronto lawmaker Judy Sgro said “a lot of us” are concerned about reports of foreign interference.
The Liberal Party board is holding meetings this week to discuss the race, but establishing the rules “will take some time,” party communications director Parker Lund said by email. He added: “Protecting the integrity of our democratic process is a foremost priority for the party, and we look forward to providing more details about the leadership process once the rules have been set.”
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s caucus meeting, Canada’s energy minister and leadership hopeful Jonathan Wilkinson said Liberals discussed membership, timing, and the threshold of money that potential candidates would need to raise. He also said the board would unveil rules “over the coming days.”
Taleeb Noormohamed, another member of parliament for Vancouver, said caucus discussed concerns about the race being secure, and the membership of non-citizens and non-permanent residents.
The Conservative Party requires permanent residency or citizenship and asks for financial contributions. You must be a citizen and aged 18 or above to vote in a federal election.
Trudeau’s Impact
Trudeau decisively won the leadership in 2013 after the party threw open the doors for non-paying “supporters” to vote, and hundreds of thousands of people joined. More than 100,000 cast ballots in the leadership vote.
Trudeau dramatically ramped up immigration to Canada, and there are currently more than three million non-permanent residents in the country. As things stand, they would also be eligible to vote for his replacement, if they’ve registered in time.
Liberal Party rules currently say that would-be voters in the leadership race must already be registered with the party 41 days before the poll.
That “cooling off” period might reduce the number of last-minute joiners hoping to sway the contest — but Trudeau’s leadership has been publicly in question for months, so those who want a say in his replacement have already had plenty of time to join.
“They need this race to be focused and fast,” said political consultant Scott Reid, previously head of communications for Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
The Liberals should charge a high entry fee to discourage marginal candidates and infiltrators, mandate that voters are Canadian citizens, and have a very short sign-up period, he said.
“You have to be sensitive to the potential for foreign interference,” he said. The race “will be targeted by interest groups, by foreign agitant governments, possibly others who will want to make mischief and, you know, effectively try to take over a party.”
Accelerated Process
The last time the Liberals rejigged their rules and picked a leader, they took almost two years — from Michael Ignatieff’s resignation in May 2011 to the election of Trudeau in April 2013.
Despite pressure to get the process right, they nonetheless need to move much faster now.
They need a leader to fight a federal election which could start soon after lawmakers return to Parliament on March 24. And they face Donald Trump entering the White House on Jan. 20. He’s already mocking Canada and Trudeau and threatening “economic force,” including 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods.
Alongside his resignation, Trudeau successfully requested the prorogation of parliament, effectively pausing its activity. That temporarily blocks rival parties from voting no confidence in the government and triggering a national election — which they have said they will do.
But even with that breathing room, the Liberal Party needs to accelerate. Current rules imply a 90-day minimum contest — though include a clause allowing the party executive to change the vote date and “alter any arrangements already made,” if political circumstances require.
If it officially started this week — and it will likely start later — 90 days would take it to April 8 or 9, after Parliament returns with the threat of toppling the government.
--With assistance from Brian Platt and Erik Hertzberg.
(adds comments from Liberals after Wednesday’s meeting)
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