CCSA leader Joe Li, bottom right, attends an event in Toronto with former Conservative senator Victor Oh, top right, CTCCO leader Wei Chengyi, back center, former Don Valley North Liberal MP Geng Tan, top left, and former Markham-area MP and Trudeau cabinet minister John McCallum, between Tan and Wei.

Sam Cooper

Call for Poilievre to step down follows pattern of strategic diaspora messaging amid national security scrutiny over foreign interference networks

A controversial diaspora pressure group with ties to Chinese consular circles in Toronto is demanding that Pierre Poilievre step down, following an election marked by Beijing’s attacks on Conservative candidates, and renewing the same type of challenge it posed to former leader Erin O’Toole, which first drew national security attention after the 2021 federal contest.

On May 12, the Chinese Canadian Conservative Association (CCCA), led by York Region councillor Joe Li, publicly called for Pierre Poilievre to step down following the Conservative Party’s defeat in the recent federal election. At a small press event in Markham, the group denounced Poilievre’s plan to run in an anticipated Calgary by-election—after his surprising loss of his longtime Ottawa riding—as undemocratic and fiscally wasteful. Li’s comments echoed a similar event in 2021, when he called for Erin O’Toole’s resignation after another disappointing election result.

Both campaigns unfolded amid persistent evidence of foreign interference, including disinformation and alleged intimidation operations targeting Chinese Canadian voters and Conservative candidates.

Founded in 1983 to encourage civic engagement among Chinese Canadians, the CCCA has no formal ties to the federal Conservative Party. But its political messaging—delivered through Chinese-language media and tightly networked community forums—has intersected with meetings involving Chinese officials and Toronto community leaders under national security scrutiny.

Li has often appeared alongside former Liberal MP Paul Chiang, whose election efforts were supported by the CCCA.

Li and the group’s latest demand for Poilievre’s resignation came just days after the election, with Li telling Chinese-language media that Poilievre had failed. “Don’t waste money on a by-election,” a translated report from the CCCA event says. “Respect democracy and step down, Pierre Poilievre.”

The post-election comments from the CCCA echo earlier criticism directed at O’Toole, who, like Poilievre, was portrayed in Chinese-language media as unfriendly to China—and by extension, to the Chinese Canadian community.

The CCCA’s call also drew attention for its timing, coming as Conservatives prepared for a by-election in the reliably Conservative riding of Battle River–Crowfoot. The group’s message that Poilievre’s gambit is wasteful and undemocratic demonstrates a sophistication, because these arguments are also circulating in mainstream punditry, where Poilievre is now facing internal leadership questions following his failure to defeat the widely unpopular Liberal government. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau, was notably boosted by Chinese disinformation portraying him as Canada’s best hope to resist Donald Trump’s global tariff regime—a narrative that clearly aligned with Beijing’s geopolitical interests.

Li and the CCCA, while consistently supportive of Paul Chiang, also played a visible role in discrediting Conservative candidate Joseph Tay.

Li unsuccessfully sought the Conservative nomination this year in Markham–Unionville—positioning himself against Tay.

Tay, a prominent Hong Kong activist, ultimately ran as the Conservative candidate in Don Valley North. Paul Chiang—a former York Region police officer—reportedly said during the campaign that Tay “could be handed over to the Chinese consulate,” a remark interpreted by Tay and international human rights groups as threatening. The Bureau previously confirmed that the RCMP advised Tay to suspend in-person campaigning due to credible safety concerns. Tay ultimately lost the race by about 5,000 votes.

Li’s takedown of Poilievre marks a reversal from 2023, when Poilievre reportedly reached out to Li’s group and other pro-Beijing community leaders—apparently in an effort to soften the party’s perceived stance toward China and distance himself from Erin O’Toole, his predecessor. According to the National Post, one of the organizers and the man who introduced Poilievre was Joe Li, “the regional councillor who harshly criticized the tough China policies proposed in the Conservatives’ 2021 election platform, suggesting Canada should not publicly confront Beijing on human rights.”

Quoting former CSIS China Desk officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya—who has direct experience investigating Toronto consular networks that overlap with the CCCA—the Post wrote: “You know what that means?” asked Juneau-Katsuya. “It means the Chinese have successfully scared and bullied the Conservatives.”

If this network is now targeting Poilievre on behalf of external forces—and if that effort represents a continuation of interference seen during the election campaign—there has yet to be any public confirmation.

Earlier, the SITE Task Force tracked coordinated disinformation targeting Tay, including narratives suggesting Canada would become a “refuge for fugitives” if he were elected. Paul Chiang echoed those remarks. In a statement to The Bureau yesterday, CSIS confirmed that Tay’s family members were detained in Hong Kong after the election—an act Canadian authorities assessed as transnational political pressure.

At a CCCA press conference earlier this year, which appeared closely tied to the Chiang–Tay controversy, the group accused both major parties of bypassing diaspora input and “directly appointing candidates without consulting community groups or even party members.”

Public records and Chinese-language media show CCCA members have attended events with officials from the People’s Republic of China and leaders of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO). One of CTCCO’s honorary chairs, businessman Wei Chengyi, along with other group leaders, has been under RCMP investigation for alleged involvement in China’s overseas “police station” operations. Wei Chengyi and CTCCO have, through statements in Chinese media, denied any involvement in Chinese interference in Canada. More recently, according to a report from The Globe and Mail citing FINTRAC disclosures, TD Bank reportedly closed CTCCO’s accounts, citing concerns over money laundering and foreign interference.

Former CSIS officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya has identified Wei and CTCCO as key players in pro-Beijing propaganda efforts in Canada, including support for Confucius Institutes in Ontario schools. These institutes were designated by the U.S. State Department as arms of the Chinese state.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole revealed in 2023 he had been briefed by CSIS on PRC attempts to attack his leadership through operations funded by the United Front Work Department. According to O’Toole, his party witnessed what appeared to be active efforts to suppress the Conservative vote in Chinese communities. The tactics included disinformation on WeChat, whisper campaigns portraying Conservative MPs as anti-China, and potential intimidation of Conservative incumbent Bob Saroya in the Markham area, according to senior party sources.

By 2025, these tactics had apparently evolved from online influence to publicly confirmed transnational coercion—reaching into diaspora communities and Canadian elections through threats, arrests, and reputational attacks, as seen in the case of Joseph Tay.

Ottawa has “raised its strong concerns directly with both Chinese and Hong Kong authorities” and is monitoring the circumstances surrounding the detention of family members of former Conservative election candidate Joe Tay in Hong Kong, CSIS confirmed to The Bureau.

“They are tracking the situation closely, and are in contact with Mr. Tay,” a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said.

Global Affairs Canada stated it “deplores the decision by Hong Kong authorities to punish people for actions that amount to nothing more than freedom of expression.”