Liberal Candidate Invited Head of Suspected Secret Chinese Police Station to Campaign Event

MONTREAL — A Montreal-area Liberal candidate, Alexandra Mendès, has sparked controversy after inviting the head of two organizations suspected by the RCMP of operating a secret Chinese police station to a campaign event.

The invitation, which was part of an exclusive dinner hosted by Mendès, sowed consternation within the Liberal party, which has faced scrutiny over multiple candidates' ties to the Chinese government. In a picture provided to National Post, Xixi Li, the head of two controversial Chinese community organizations and a Brossard city councillor, is seen attending the invitation-only dinner on Tuesday evening.

Li is the executive director of Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal (SFCGM) and the Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud (CSQRS). In 2023, the RCMP announced that it was investigating suspicions that the organizations secretly housed a Chinese "police station" that may be supporting efforts to intimidate or silence critics of China's ruling communist regime.

At the time, the RCMP said the investigation was part of a larger probe aiming to "detect and perturb criminal activities supported by a foreign state that can threaten the safety of people living in Canada." One month later, it said it had "shut down illegal police activity in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia." No charges have been laid against Li or the organizations she heads.

SFCGM and CSQRS leadership, as well as Li, have vehemently denied the RCMP's allegations and filed a $4.9-million defamation lawsuit against the national police force in 2024. "These allegations only serve to stigmatize and reinforce stereotypes and prejudices against a historically marginalized group," SFCGM leadership said in a January statement detailing the impacts of the investigation on the organization.

Earlier this month, the RCMP requested that the lawsuit be put on pause for a third time until it completes its investigation by January. "Since the investigation is still ongoing and there are legal steps to be taken, we cannot offer any further comments at this time," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Erique Gasse said in response to the National Post's request for comment.

Li's attendance at Mendès' event was first reported by Le Journal de Montréal. The invitation has raised serious questions about Mendès' ties to Li and her connections to the Chinese government.

"We now have a community leader that has met UFWD leaders attending a campaign event for a Liberal candidate," said former national security analyst Dennis Molinaro. "In a general sense, inviting groups connected to the UFWD or OCAO to political events could send the wrong message to Canadians and the diaspora community and the right message to China."

This isn't the first time Mendès' apparent ties to Li have upset her Liberal colleagues. Last year, now-Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne's office expressed its discomfort after the Journal de Montréal revealed that Mendès had invited Champagne to an event where he met Li.

At the time, Mendes told the Journal de Montreal newspaper that she met frequently with Li and that she supported her "100 per cent."