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“The moment somebody can question the integrity of the elections and the election result, democracy is in trouble,” Sarts said.

The federal government has tasked Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould with shoring up the electoral system against foreign meddling.

Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press

“We are closely following how our allies are addressing these challenges in their countries to see what solutions may be right for Canada,” Gould’s spokeswoman Jordan Owens said.

“The government of Canada continues to closely monitor foreign threats, including those that may impact the 2019 election and are working hard to ensure that Canadians can continue to trust in our democratic institutions.”

The government wants to bring “greater transparency” to the funding of political parties and political advertising and fundraisers, said Owens.

The government wants social media companies to “address issues related to foreign interference in elections,” she said.

They have taken some initial positive first steps, but more needs to be done

“They have taken some initial positive first steps, but more needs to be done.”

Relations between Canada and Russia are at a low ebb with the Canadian Forces commanding a NATO battle group in Latvia, part of the alliance’s anti-Moscow deterrent in Eastern Europe following the Kremlin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the ongoing turmoil in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has threatened unspecified retaliation against Canada for its passage of anti-corruption legislation named in honour of the Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.