By Canadian Press

Auditor general won’t review Trudeau Foundation donations, says it’s out of scope

Apr 24, 2023 | 12:33 PM

OTTAWA — The office of the federal auditor general says it will not investigate private donations received by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, despite a letter from the board’s chair requesting an audit. 

Natasha Leduc, a spokeswoman for the office, says the decision was based on the scope of the auditor general’s authority under the law.

Leduc says Karen Hogan can audit any organization that has received $1 million or more in public funds, but it is not within her authority to examine the source of private donations or the motivations of the donors.

The foundation’s interim board chair, Edward Johnson, had sought an audit of two donations made in 2016 and 2017 that were worth $140,000 and came from Chinese businessmen. 

The donations have been under scrutiny for their possible links to the Chinese government amid a broader debate about alleged foreign interference in Canada. 

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The foundation’s CEO and most of its board of directors resigned earlier this month citing the politicization of the donations, which they said impeded the scholarship organization’s independent, non-partisan work. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2023. 

The Canadian Press