Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was never told whether candidates in the 2019 federal election received funding from the Chinese government.

A Global News report that aired earlier this month quoted unnamed sources as saying Trudeau was informed last January that China had attempted to interfere in Canadian politics, including by funding at least 11 candidates in the 2019 general election.

Liberals have been repeatedly questioned in the House of Commons this week by opposition MPs who have demanded that they reveal the identities of the candidates involved and what Canada intends to do about Chinese interference.

Like Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, the MPs who responded were evasive, saying only that Canada’s elections were free and fair.

Based in Tunisia, where he is completing a 10-day trip to Asia and Africa, Trudeau said the government has not publicly identified any of these candidates because it does not know who they are. He claimed to have only learned about these allegations from the media.

“I can tell you clearly: I have no information about federal candidates who received money from China,” he said.

He also pointed out that he is regularly briefed by intelligence and security officials. No one informed him of these allegations.

On November 14, the Liberals backed a resolution tabled by the Conservatives to a lower house parliamentary committee to expand the investigation into foreign interference to “discuss media reports that the Chinese Communist Party worked to influence the 2019 federal election.

The Liberals say they backed the motion because they believe the global report raises questions officials need to answer. The resolution calls on the government to produce within a week all “relevant” information notes, memoranda and documents submitted to the prime minister and cabinet members on the matter.

“I have asked those responsible to look carefully at these media reports and to provide all possible answers to the parliamentary committee that is following up these questions,” Trudeau said on Sunday.

Canada is at odds with China, as illustrated by strained relations between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Xi Jinping at last week’s G-20 summit in Bali.

Mr Trudeau had been rebuffed by the Chinese President for sharing some details of their exchange with the media on the sidelines of the meeting the previous day.

Speaking to Mr. Trudeau on camera, President Xi had criticized the prime minister for sharing the issues discussed privately with the media.

“Everything we talked about has been leaked to the media, it’s not appropriate,” the Chinese prime minister said. And the conversation didn’t go like that.

At this point, Mr. Trudeau interrupted Mr. Xi and continued speaking to say, “We believe in free, open and honest dialogue, and we will continue to have that. We will continue to try to work together constructively, but there will be things we don’t agree on.”

Trudeau spoke to Xi on Tuesday and his cabinet said it had raised concerns about Chinese interference in Canada. The prime minister did not specify the type of interference, but the comment follows allegations that Beijing has de facto police stations in Canada and that China interfered in the 2019 federal election.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning also firmly denied that China had interfered in another country’s internal affairs. She accused Canada of being responsible for the deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries.