Former Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole believes that foreign interference may have led to his removal as party leader, according to documents submitted to the foreign interference investigation.

In a document containing notes from an interview between O'Toole and lawyers working for the Foreign Interference Committee earlier this year, O'Toole is quoted as saying he was skeptical about the motives of the person behind the petition calling for a leadership review after the 2021 election.

The document states: "Mr. O'Toole also believes that foreign interference played a role in his ousting as party leader." "Immediately following the election loss, a petition and public relations campaign against Mr. O'Toole was launched within 48 hours by a prominent member of the Chinese Communist Party who had served on the party's national council."

The Conservative Party member was Bert Chen, whose membership on the party's national council was suspended after the petition was launched to recall O'Toole as leader.

The document noted that a reliable source in one diaspora group and Mr. O'Toole's journalist confidentially informed that this particular party member had unusual ties with the government of the [People's Republic of China], and Mr. O'Toole has no information supporting these allegations," "but he trusts the sources."

He added, "He was made aware of this information after he had already lost party leadership."

O'Toole's Conservative Party lost the 2021 election, winning 119 seats out of 338, despite winning the popular vote.

Chen's petition did not lead to O'Toole stepping down as party leader; rather, he was forced to leave his position in February 2022 after an internal party revolt.

O'Toole told Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Wednesday: "People told me certain things in my report." "I have no verifiable evidence regarding Mr. Chen or anyone else. But I believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and we need more transparency."

Chen denies ties to the Chinese government

In an email sent to CBC News, Chen said he launched the petition to elect a new Conservative leader "on the basis that Mr. O'Toole was unfit to lead our country or our party."

He added: "As a Canadian born in Taiwan whose family fought in the Chinese Civil War against the Chinese Communist Party, I can unreservedly assure all Canadians that I have no ties to the People's Republic of China regime."

"The motivation behind submitting the petition to recall Mr. O'Toole's leadership was his backtracking on his campaign promise to never impose a carbon tax, and the fact that he did not mention this is a testament to his credibility and the honesty of his sources."

Conservative Party spokesperson Sarah Fisher described O'Toole's allegations as "absurd."

She said in an email to CBC News: "It was the Conservative Party of Canada caucus who voted to remove the then-leader, not a member of the national council."

In O'Toole's testimony before the inquiry on Wednesday, he said Chinese foreign interference may have led to the defeat of up to nine candidates of the Chinese Communist Party—an allegation he has made before.

He said his party was the victim of misinformation claims on the social media platform WeChat, which many Chinese Canadians use.

O'Toole said he believes the Chinese government targeted his party partly because of its efforts to investigate Chinese interference in Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory, as well as a private members' bill supporting the registration of foreign agents.

He also noted that he does not believe Chinese interference changed the actual election outcome.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied allegations of foreign interference affecting election results.

He said speaking in Toronto: "I can understand where someone who lost the election is trying to look for reasons other than why they lost the election."

"The fact is, we have established a committee made up of senior independent public servants, a task force composed of security officials across all our intelligence and security agencies to ensure the integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections. And implementing all these mechanisms unequivocally confirms that election integrity was upheld."