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A Commons ethics hearing exploded into controversy Tuesday as journalist Sam Cooper detailed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s past connections to Chinese Communist Party–linked financiers through his former firm, Brookfield Asset Management.

Conservative MPs Michael Barrett and Michael Cooper pressed Cooper for specifics on Brookfield’s dealings while Carney was chair, including its $ 3 billion portfolio of Chinese real estate and energy investments, its partnerships with United Front–connected tycoon Vincent Lo, and financing from the Bank of China.

🚨 Ethics bombshell at committee: Journalist Sam Cooper told MP Michael Barrett that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s former firm Brookfield held over $3 billion in China-linked real-estate and energy investments, involving tycoons tied to Beijing’s United Front networks and even… pic.twitter.com/ckUj3eo96J

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 27, 2025

“Brookfield under Mr. Carney had very substantial China-based investments,” Cooper testified. “When the market collapsed, the Bank of China bridged capital to help Brookfield, and Mr. Carney travelled to China to meet with senior Communist Party officials around that time.”

Cooper also confirmed that Carney expanded Brookfield’s Chinese footprint and personally met with Xi Jinping while the deals were being finalized, only weeks before Brookfield secured a quarter-billion-dollar loan from the regime.

🚨 At the Ethics Committee, MP Michael Cooper pressed journalist Sam Cooper on PM Mark Carney’s deep China entanglements through Brookfield — a firm with over $3 billion in CCP-linked investments, including deals with United Front insider Vincent Lo and financing from the Bank of… pic.twitter.com/rhrXdOakW1

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 27, 2025

Cooper further revealed that Carney met multiple times with leaders tied to China’s United Front, including events with the Jiangsu Chamber of Commerce in Markham and in Steveston–Richmond East — the same riding where Beijing’s disinformation campaign targeted former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu.

The revelations came as Cooper urged MPs to create an independent federal anti-corruption agency, arguing the RCMP lacks capacity to probe politically sensitive foreign-influence cases.

“Canada’s democracy demands that legislation is broadened,” he said.

🚨 Ethics Committee revelation: MP Michael Cooper confirmed PM Mark Carney met multiple times with leaders tied to China’s United Front, including the Jiangsu Chamber of Commerce in Markham and another meeting in Steveston–Richmond East — the very area where Beijing’s… pic.twitter.com/EGSX5JwSmz

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 27, 2025

Liberal MP Gurbux Saini accused Cooper of relying too heavily on anonymous sources. 

Cooper shot back that his reporting record speaks for itself — a reference to his 2023 exposé that forced former Liberal MP Han Dong out of caucus for his secret contacts with the Chinese Consulate in Toronto.

"How can we seek a better balance between investigative journalism ... & not undermining Canadians' trust in our institutions?"

- Liberal MP @sari_ab to journalist @scoopercooper.

What kinda of Orwellian C-8 question is that? pic.twitter.com/1o1nLstxvp

— HoCStaffer (@HoCStaffer) October 27, 2025

Liberal MP Abdelhaq Sari further implied that Cooper's accurate journalism may harm the trust in corrupt government institutions. 

"How can we seek a better balance between investigative journalism ... and not undermining Canadians' trust in our institutions?" Sari posited.