Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said China is trying to interfere in the country's democracy for years.

Trudeau was responding to a Globe and Mail report that said Canada’s intelligence agency has evidence China employed “a sophisticated strategy” to try to disrupt the country’s federal election in 2021, reports The Straits Times.

The newspaper reported that Chinese diplomats worked through proxies to persuade Chinese-Canadians to vote against certain Conservative Party candidates.

Chinese officials expressed a preference to see Trudeau’s Liberal Party win a minority government, according to the intelligence reports.

Trudeau, speaking to reporters on Friday afternoon in Ottawa, said he has acknowledged before that “China is trying to interfere in our democracy, in the processes in our country, including during our elections”.

“This is not a new phenomenon, and this is something that countries around the world have been grappling with for a long time, and Canada is no exception,” he said.