A Canadian foundation, founded by friends and family of the late former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, is reeling from the mass resignations of its president/CEO and board of directors earlier last week following the outcry regarding its 2016 acceptance of a $200,000 donation from two Chinese businessmen allegedly tied to the government in Beijing.
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is now promising an independent review of the donation against the backdrop of what has become an escalating national scandal over alleged Chinese interference in Canada’s elections. The foundation, citing a “political climate” that made it untenable for its leaders to remain in their positions, announced it returned the money and will commission a team of outside investigators to review the payments.
“The circumstances created by the politicization of the foundation have made it impossible to continue with the status quo,” foundation official said via a statement confirming the resignations.
The foundation, which promotes public policy research and scholarship, first came under scrutiny two months ago after the Toronto Globe and Mail reported that the 2016 donation allegedly was part of a $1 million plot to influence the newly formed government of Justin Trudeau, the late prime minister’s son who had assumed Canada’s highest office months earlier. The paper reported that the donors gave $200,000 in honor of Pierre Trudeau to the foundation and pledged an additional $800,000 to the University of Montreal, where Pierre Trudeau attended law school.
The foundation has maintained it is independent and that Justin Trudeau is not involved with it, an assertion the prime minister himself has reiterated. It is also unclear how much influence a $200,000 donation to the foundation could have had in the context of the $144 million in total assets it reported on hand as of August 2022 according to its T3010 charitable tax filing, which is Canada’s equivalent of the IRS Form 990.
However, the controversy re-erupted last week when a newly released government report, which was authored by the foundation’s former president, confirmed foreign attempts to influence Canada’s 2021 vote but concluded that overall election integrity was not affected. The author, Morris Rosenberg, is a career civil servant who was serving as the foundation’s president when it received the 2016 donation. Critics pounced on the connection and have called for a new government investigation untainted by perceived conflicts of interest.
Foundation officials announced a probe will be conducted. “This review will be conducted by an accounting firm instructed by a law firm, neither of which were previously involved with the foundation,” said outgoing board chairman Edward Johnson in a statement to The NonProfit Times.
To facilitate an orderly transition and ensure the foundation can continue to meet its obligations and pay its bills, Johnson and two other board members will stay on in an interim capacity until a new board can be installed. However, Johnson told The NonProfit Times that the probe has already been authorized by the outgoing board and will begin without delay.
