Cabinet Directive on the Coordinated Response to Threats to Elections (CRTE)

1. Introduction

The protection and preservation of Canada’s democratic institutions and practices is one of the core responsibilities of the federal government.

National security threat and risk assessments, along with the experience of key international allies, underscore that Canada’s general elections may be vulnerable to interference in a number of areas. Recognizing this, significant work has been undertaken within the federal government to protect and defend electoral systems and processes.

As part of this work, the Government of Canada has established the Cabinet Directive on the Coordinated Response to Threats to Elections (“Directive”) to ensure coherence and consistency in Canada’s approach to taking action during the caretaker period to address incidents that threaten Canada’s ability to have free and fair elections. For the purpose of this Directive, “elections” is defined, consistent with the Canada Elections Act, as the election of a member to serve in the House of Commons, but only as it applies to the context of a general election. Canada and its democracy are best served by election campaigns that offer a full range of debate and dissent. The Directive is meant to support, and will not curtail, Canada’s rich democratic discourse.

2. Purpose

The Cabinet Directive on the Coordinated Response to Threats to Elections sets out ministers’ expectations with respect to the general directions and the principles to guide the process by which the Government of Canada will consider the full range of actions at its disposal to safeguard against incidents that threaten Canada’s ability to have free and fair elections. This includes considerations related to communicating with Canadians during the period that the Caretaker Convention is in effect.

The Directive is consistent with the principles of the Caretaker Convention. The underlying principle of the Caretaker Convention is that when the Government does not command the confidence of the House, to the extent possible, government activity – in matters of policy, expenditure and appointments – should be restricted to matters that are routine, or noncontroversial, urgent and in the public interest, or reversible by a new government without undue cost or disruption, or agreed to by opposition parties (in those cases where consultation is appropriate). The Caretaker Convention is typically applied from the dissolution of Parliament to the swearing in of a new government or when a result returning an incumbent government is clear.

3. Scope of application

The Directive will have a limited mandate and will only be applicable to incidents that occur during the caretaker period, and that do not fall within Elections Canada’s areas of responsibility (i.e., with regard to the administration of the election, as identified in the Canada Elections Act). Incidents that occur outside of the caretaker period will be addressed through regular Government of Canada operations. This Directive is not in effect for by-elections, which by their nature take place outside the caretaker period, and during which the Deputy Minister’s Committee on Intelligence Action will assume a role akin to that of the Panel described below. For greater certainty, while the Directive sets out specific actions to be taken outside of the caretaker period, those are related to preparatory activities, public communications, and reporting.

4. Panel

4.1 Composition

The Directive will be administered by a Panel comprised of:

• the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet;
• the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister;
• the Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General;
• the Deputy Minister of Public Safety;
• the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; and
• An individual external to government appointed in accordance with section 4.2.

In the context of the Caretaker Convention, Panel members with leadership positions throughout the public service bring an important contribution in coordinating government efforts to protect the integrity of the federal election during the caretaker period. The external Panel member is intended to bring a non-governmental point of view to the Panel’s discussions. The Panel brings together national security, foreign affairs, democratic governance and legal expertise.

4.2 Selection of individual external to government

Reasonable efforts will be undertaken to appoint an individual external to government to serve as a Panel member. In the event such an individual is not appointed, the Panel will continue to operate and assume its responsibilities as outlined in the Directive.

A process will be launched with the objective of appointing an individual external to government to the Panel, on condition of obtaining appropriate security clearances, in consultation with leaders of political parties recognized in the House of Commons and with leaders in the Senate. This process will be undertaken under the leadership of the Minister responsible for democratic institutions with a view to achieving consensus. Once appointed, the individual will serve on the Panel for one election cycle, but their appointment could be extended for a second election by consensus decision of the other five Panel members.

4.3 Responsibilities

The Panel will undertake its role in a non-partisan and impartial manner. For additional clarity, partisan political considerations will play no role in the decisions of the Panel, including those related to communicating with Canadians.

Outside of the caretaker period, the Panel will convene on a regular basis to maintain situational awareness of the threat landscape, and a state of readiness for its responsibilities during the caretaker period, including through relevant briefings as appropriate. Outside of the caretaker period, the Panel will provide leadership in:

• seeking opportunities to make the Directive known to Canadians in order to raise awareness of the Panel’s role during caretaker periods;
• facilitating the release of integrated information on threats to Canada’s elections, in order to raise awareness of such threats and measures Canadians can take to be prepared; and
• ensuring the regular and routine provision of information on threats to Canada’s elections to political parties and elected officials.

During the caretaker period, responsibilities under this Directive are the overarching priority of Panel members, and the Panel will convene and receive briefings on a frequent basis. The Panel will operate on a consensus basis.

5. Caretaker period operations

5.1 Deliberations

During the caretaker period, through its deliberations, the Panel will be responsible for leading a coordinated Government of Canada response to incidents that threaten Canada’s ability to have free and fair elections.

In support of the Panel’s deliberations:

• The Panel will draw upon the support and expertise of the federal public service to support its operations. Departments and agencies are expected to organize and meet frequently during the caretaker period to coordinate advice to the Panel.
• The national security agencies will provide regular briefings to the Panel.
• The Panel will also undertake to obtain information and advice from sources beyond the security and intelligence agencies, such as researchers and civil society organizations.
• The Panel may consult with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to ensure mandates are being respected should issues of interference arise that are possibly relevant to both the Panel and the CEO.
• Political parties will be informed on how to report any interference they may experience during the election.
• The Panel will endeavour to ensure that government departments and agencies, and non-governmental organizations also have opportunities to report any incidents that they may experience or observe during the election.

5.2 Incident Response

During the caretaker period, the Panel will evaluate and address incidents that threaten Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election. In so doing, the Panel will be responsible for taking note of whether and how the full range of actions available to the Government of Canada to safeguard against such incidents have been considered.

Such actions could be directed at the threat actor, the threat activity, and/or the potential target. This could include:

• Informing affected parties, such as candidates, political parties, or Elections Canada;
• Engaging with civil society organizations and communities at risk;
• Establishing communications lines with social media platforms operating in Canada;
• Collaborating with provinces and territories, as well as local governments;
• Pursuing diplomatic engagement with foreign governments;
• Undertaking threat reduction measures to mitigate the impact of foreign interference; and
• Issuing public communications.

The Panel will seek to ensure that the Government of Canada has undertaken all reasonable measures, under existing authorities, that could contribute to preventing or mitigating identified incidents.

Undertaking such measures is not intended to censor or chill political and social discourse; rather, the intent of such actions is to support broader national efforts to protect Canada’s elections against interference attempts.

6. Panel communications

Canada and its allies have recognized the value of publicly disclosing incidents of threats to the integrity of elections, such as foreign information manipulation and interference, to raise citizen awareness, build citizen resilience, and maintain trust in electoral outcomes. Therefore, the Panel will assess whether and how Government of Canada communications during the caretaker period could contribute to the above objectives.

Within a week following the issue of the writs, a statement will be issued informing Canadians of the range of tools available to the Government of Canada, and what to expect in terms of possible public communications on the topic of safeguarding elections during the election period.

A direct intervention by the Panel, in the form of a public announcement, during the caretaker period requires careful consideration and a high threshold, such that the operation of the Panel does not itself become an obstacle to free and open democratic debate while protecting against threats to the integrity of the election. There are different considerations that could be included in making this judgement:

• the degree to which the incident(s) undermine(s) Canadians’ ability to have a free and fair election;
• the potential of the incident(s) to undermine the legitimacy of the election and trust in its outcome; and
• the degree of confidence officials have in the intelligence or information.

In the event that the Panel determines a public announcement is necessary, the Panel will inform the Prime Minister, the other leaders of political parties represented in the House of Commons at the dissolution of Parliament (or their designated senior party officials who have received their security clearances sponsored by the Privy Council Office) and Elections Canada that a public announcement will be made. The leaders would all receive the same briefing information.

7. Complementing broader efforts

The Directive is intended to support the broader efforts by the Government of Canada to build citizen resilience and trust in electoral outcomes. Its implementation will align with the Government of Canada’s commitment to promoting information integrity and upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Everyone – Canadian citizens and those residing in Canada; organizations such as political actors; social media platforms; civil society; academia; and others – has a role to play to ensure Canadian democratic values are upheld, and the Directive is intended to complement these essential efforts. Citizens, in particular, play an essential role by taking an informed and critical approach to online information, in order to thoughtfully assess the information they consume, share and discuss.

8. Existing authorities

Nothing in this Directive in any way alters or expands the authorities or mandates of the national security agencies or any other department or agency. Specifically, nothing in this Directive supersedes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s independence.

9. Reporting to Canadians

Following each election, the Panel will produce a report that summarizes deliberations and decision-making during the caretaker period. This report will be presented to the Prime Minister and to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. A public version will also be published. These reports are intended to provide increased transparency and clarity on decision-making during this period and to inform the continuity of government. These reports will also aim to help inform consideration of potential adjustments to the Directive, if warranted, as part of continuous efforts to improve the preparedness of the Government of Canada in safeguarding Canada’s democratic institutions.