Canada and the World, Ep. 30: Electoral integrity in Canada’s 2019 federal election

Recorded right before three by-elections in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, as well as ex-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s damning testimony against the Canadian government, this podcast episode looks at issues that will impact the upcoming federal election, from the NDP’s prospects in Quebec, to possible interference from Russia, China and Saudi Arabia, to wedge issues that could be used to influence voters, including immigration, pipelines and, of course, the SNC-Lavalin scandal. What are the vulnerabilities of this election to voter manipulation and foreign interference? What kind of digital literacy needs to be promoted? Is the SNC-Lavalin issue big enough to take the Liberals down? Andrew Potter, Anna Esselment and Stephanie MacLellan join host Bessma Momani to hash it out.

Our host

Bessma Momani is professor at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and University of Waterloo and a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. She’s also a non-resident senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. and a Fulbright Scholar. She has been non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. and a 2015 Fellow at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. She’s a frequent analyst and expert on international affairs in Canadian and global media.

This week’s guests

Andrew Potter is an assistant professor at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. He is the former editor of the Ottawa Citizen and was a public affairs columnist for Maclean’s.

Anna Esselment is an associate professor in the department of political science at the University of Waterloo. Her areas of research and writing include political parties, campaigns and elections, political marketing, and Canadian institutions. Previously, Anna worked at Queen’s Park as a policy advisor to then-opposition leader Dalton McGuinty.

Stephanie MacLellan is a senior research associate at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, specializing in internet governance and cyber security, and a former editor and reporter for the Toronto Star, the Hamilton Spectator and The Slovak Spectator.

Canada and the World is produced and edited by Matthew Markudis. Each episode can be found on iTunes and other podcast applications.