Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is criticising former Governor General David Johnston, who was recently appointed “independent special rapporteur” by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to investigate foreign interference in Canada’s elections, for his previous membership with the Trudeau Foundation, which has received funding from the Chinese regime in the past.

“How will you investigate Beijing’s donation to the Trudeau Foundation when you were part of the Trudeau Foundation?” Poilievre wrote in a letter addressed to Johnston and posted on Twitter on April 12.

A spokesperson from Poilievre’s office did not immediately confirm to The Epoch Times if the letter was actually sent to Johnston’s office.

Johnston became a member of the Trudeau Foundation in 2018 and resigned following his appointment as special rapporteur on March 15.

The Foundation, which is named in honour of former Prime Minister Pierre-Elliott Trudeau, was created in 2002 and received $125 million in funding at the time from the federal government.

The Foundation’s purpose is to provide scholarships and mentorship to develop “future engaged leaders.”

In the wake of numerous reports raising allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections and institutions over the past several years, Johnston has been tasked by the Liberal government with investigating foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Johnston’s duties as special rapporteur involve reviewing investigations done by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, and recommending any additional mechanisms or processes he believes necessary for preventing future foreign interference.

The Globe and Mail reported in February that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had uncovered a 2014 plan by the Chinese regime to donate to the Trudeau Foundation, according to a national security source.

The Foundation said a day after the report was published that it would return the money, stating that it could not keep “any donation that may have been sponsored by a foreign government.”

However, a recent report by the French news outlet La Presse alleged that the Foundation had not yet returned the donation from Beijing because the name on the cheque did not match that of the real donor.

The outlet’s report was based on interviews with unidentified individuals who resigned from the Trudeau Foundation because of the internal crisis resulting from the Chinese donation.

Reporters asked Trudeau on April 12 if he believes Johnston should remain in his role as special rapporteur given his previous membership with the Trudeau Foundation and the potential conflict of interest that could arise should Johnston investigate the Chinese funds previously sent to the Foundation.

“David Johnson is a man of great integrity,” Trudeau told the reporters in Winnipeg. “He’s the perfect person to look into the complicated issue of foreign interference in our political system. I continue to have total confidence in him.”

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.