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Canada’s upcoming federal election also attracted interest, sparking a question to Freeland about the likelihood of Russian interference.

“We are very concerned,” the minister replied. “I think our judgment is interference is very likely and we think there has probably already been efforts by malign foreign actors to disrupt our democracy.”

While Freeland did not specifically mention Russia, Trudeau unloaded on the country when asked about the issue at an event in Toronto.

“We have seen over the past number of years an increase in the interference or the implication of foreign actors in democratic processes. We saw very clearly that countries like Russia are behind a lot of the divisive campaigns, a lot of the divisive social media,” the prime minister said.

Trudeau and Freeland talked about Canada’s creation of a “critical election protocol,” including a group of five senior public servants who will decide whether a malign act of interference in this October’s federal election warrants going public about a fundamental threat to the vote in the middle of the campaign.

I think our judgment is interference is very likely and we think there has probably already been efforts by malign foreign actors to disrupt our democracy

“The election that’s coming up in six months will be decided by Canadians,” Trudeau said. “We’re going to work very hard with all the intelligence communities and our partners around the world to ensure that our democracies stay strong for all the different voices that express themselves within it.”

The G7 is seized with the issue of foreign intrusions in democratic countries and Freeland made the issue a top priority when Canada hosted the bloc last year.