Lax membership criteria in major political parties, such as allowing international students and foreign nationals to join, leave Canada vulnerable to foreign interference and could potentially impact the selection of prime ministers, a recent study says.

“Foreign actors could also influence the selection process of party leadership, and hence the prime ministership, simply by purchasing party memberships that hand out ballots in leadership races without verifying the identities of new members,” said the study “Beyond General Elections“ published by Sage Journals on March 18.

The study was co-authored by Ronaldo Au-Yeung, researcher at Simon Fraser University, and Alsu Tagirova, a lecturer at the University of British Columbia.

In Canada’s parliamentary system, unlike the American presidential system, general voters do not directly choose the head of government, the authors note. Instead, the prime minister position is assumed by the internally elected leader of the party holding the most seats or confidence in the House of Commons.

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