(LifeSiteNews) — After a report surfaced that $200,000 given to the Trudeau Foundation in 2016 was alleged to be connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the foundation says it is now returning the money.
“The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has learned in recent days through the media that there was a potential connection between the Chinese government and a 2016 pledge of $200,000 to be received by the Foundation,” reads a press release from the Foundation sent out yesterday, signed by its President and CEO Pascale Fournier.
“In light of these recent allegations, the Foundation has refunded to the donor all amounts received with respect to the donation pledge.”
The sudden return of the money comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is plagued with accusations that the CCP interfered in his favor in his last two successful reelection campaigns.
The return of funds also comes in light of a Globe and Mail report from Tuesday exposing a connection between the CCP and the cash gift.
As reported by The Globe, Chinese donors with close connections to the CCP wanted a statue of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau – Justin’s father – and infamous Chinese dictator Mao Zedong erected in front of the University of Montreal, which is where the elder Trudeau studied law. This was to be in return for the donation to both the Trudeau Foundation and the University of Montreal.
According to the report by The Globe, Chinese billionaire Zhang Bin was the person who would act as the intermediary in charge of supplying the $1 million total sum, and that he would be reimbursed afterward.
“They suggested one of Trudeau and Mao together,” Geneviève O’Meara, a spokeswoman for the University of Montreal, told The Globe.
According to The Globe, a source told them Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence (CSIS) Service, had intercepted conversions regarding the donation.
The University of Montreal eventually decided not to erect the statue.
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation labels itself as “an independent and non-partisan charity established in 2001 as a living memorial to the former prime minister.”
The Foundation’s decision to give back the funds also comes after a series of bombshell reports from The Globe & Mail and Global News which show that CSIS has long been documenting allegations that Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections were interfered with by the CCP. The reports also show that there was alleged meddling in the candidate nomination races as well.
Many have pointed to the fact that it seems Justin is merely following in the footsteps of his father when it comes to his close ties with China.
In 1973, Pierre, as prime minister, traveled to China to meet with Mao, despite the fact that Mao was well-known as a despot.
Under Mao, millions died through execution, slave labor, and man-made famines, leading contemporary historians to consider the former Chinese leader as being one of the three worst political mass murderers of the 20th century.
In 1976, following Mao’s death, Pierre once again showed affection for the leader, saying in the House of Commons: “Though our social and political systems differ, Canadians recognize the path-breaking spirit of community that, under Chairman Mao’s guidance, has contributed to the modernization of China.”
Like his father, Justin has also given glowing praise to China, despite the regime’s inhumane treatment of its citizens, including the carrying out of an alleged genocide against its Uyghur Muslim population.