Brampton mayor testifies that India exerted influence over his 2022 Conservative Leadership campaign

Brampton mayor Patrick Brown revealed Thursday that while he doesn’t believe foreign interference from India impacted the outcome of the Conservative leadership race in 2022, India did play a role in pressuring his campaign.

Brown testified at a Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security meeting on Foreign Interference, fielding a series of questions related to the 2022 Conservative leadership race from which he was ultimately disqualified.

According to Brown’s testimony, India’s consul general often took issue with positions taken by Brown and even language used in reference to the Sikh community in Canada. 

Brown added that Conservative MP Michelle Rempel-Garner, who was his campaign co-chair at the time, was the recipient of an “angry” phone call from the Indian consul general over language being used by Brown in relation to a “Sikh Nation.”

“There was a conference call where there was some concern from Rempel-Garner about some of the language that I was using in gurdwaras in the membership drives,” Brown testified.

“There was concern from, I believe the consul general directly to the MP that I used the word ‘Sikh nation.’”

When asked if India’s actions constitute foreign interference, Brown would not directly confirm if he agreed.

“I think certainly some of their actions are in the grey,” he said. “I’m used to it, having dealt with the Indian government on a number of issues for a long time, I’m used to them being aggressive in stating their their position

He then elaborated that he would hear criticism related to positions he had taken on various issues, including in support of farmers in India

“I would say the criticism that I was hearing from members of the community related to the positions that I had taken and at the time, it was on the heels of a very large farmer’s protest in India.”

In another instance, Brown says he faced pushback from the Indian consul general for attending a vigil for actor and activist Deep Sidhu, a prominent figure in the farmer’s protests.

“One example would be the consul general says, ‘did you see what your friend did, he was at a Deep Sidhu’s vigil, how can you explain that?’ And so it would be more posing questions to sort of highlight some of why they did not support positions that I had taken,” Brown said. 

“I certainly think that consul generals and India have been more robust in their opinions and then some of us would be comfortable with.”

Earlier this week CBC reported that members of Brown’s 2022 campaign alleged that “agents of the Indian government allegedly attempted to derail Patrick Brown’s campaign.”

According to the report, “Brown’s national campaign co-chair, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, allegedly was pressured to withdraw her support for Brown in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race—” a claim both Rempel-Garner and Brown have denied. 

The news was first reported by Baaz News last year, highlighting that Brown was disinvited from “Indian community and consulate events” for taking policy positions that were contrary to India. 

Rempel-Garner was approached by media about the allegations earlier this week and quickly left the room, refusing to engage.

Last month, members of two Canadian Sikh groups also testified at the committee, highlighting the Conservative Party of Canada’s reluctance to engage with questions about India’s foreign interference.  

At the end of the standing committee meeting, a motion passed to call Rempel-Garner and two members of Patrick Brown’s campaign, Jaskaran Sandhu and Harkirat Singh, as witnesses to testify before the committee.