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British Columbia Premier David Eby is asking the Prime Minister’s Office to dig into the backgrounds of provincial candidates, including his own New Democratic Party members, according to documents produced at the Foreign Interference Commission. 

Records show Eby, now in the throes of a provincial campaign, is worried about possible “covert ties to foreign states or significant organized crime links.”

The internal memo released Monday reveals that Eby met with the prime minister’s national security advisor to discuss these concerns. He specifically asked if there was a way for B.C. political parties to run checks with federal authorities to make sure none of their candidates were tied to foreign influence or criminal networks.

Although the memo doesn’t provide a specific date, it indicates that Eby’s meeting with the prime minister’s team happened sometime within the last year. During this meeting, Eby laid out three main issues he’s worried about when it comes to foreign interference in elections:

1. Whether he’d be notified if any of his candidates had questionable connections to foreign states.
2. How he would be informed if a foreign country tried to meddle in provincial elections.
3. How he should go about telling opposition leaders if foreign interference became a problem in an election.

But the memo also raises doubts about whether Eby even has the authority to ask for this kind of information. It states, “It’s unclear what authority the B.C. Premier has to request or be in receipt of this information,” pointing out that political candidates in Canada have the same rights as other citizens, including protections against unreasonable searches.

Despite those concerns, the memo hints that federal agencies might take action if they find evidence of foreign interference linked to provincial politicians. It suggests that informing party leadership could be a possible step if a threat is discovered. However, it also cautions that federal involvement needs to be handled carefully to avoid the appearance of bias toward any one political party in B.C.