Trudeau Foundation CEO, board out over alleged Beijing-linked donation – National | Globalnews.ca

The president and CEO, as well as the entire volunteer board of directors of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, resigned Tuesday in the wake of “pressure” following a media report detailing a $200,000 donation with alleged ties to Beijing.

That seven-year-old donation, which the foundation said it was returning last month following reporting into its alleged links to the Chinese government, created an environment that made it “impossible to continue with the status quo,” according to a statement from the organization.

“In recent weeks, the political climate surrounding a donation received by the foundation in 2016 has put a great deal of pressure on the foundation’s management and volunteer board of directors, as well as on our staff and our community,” it said.

“The circumstances created by the politicization of the foundation have made it impossible to continue with the status quo, and the volunteer board of directors has resigned, as has the president and CEO.”

It added that three directors will remain on an interim basis so that the foundation can continue to meet its obligations pending board renewal, including towards its scholars, mentors and fellows.

The Trudeau Foundation was named in a February Globe and Mail report, citing an unnamed national security source, that detailed an alleged plot by the Chinese government to influence Justin Trudeau after he became Liberal leader.

The report alleged a Chinese billionaire was instructed by Beijing to donate $1 million to the Trudeau Foundation in 2014, the year before the Liberals came to power under Trudeau.

The report says that he and a second wealthy Chinese businessman donated $1 million in honour of the elder Trudeau in 2016, including $200,000 to the foundation.

Pascale Fournier, the now former president and CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, which the prime minister has not been involved with since becoming leader, said last month that the amount was refunded.

More to come.

— with files from The Canadian Press

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.