Trudeau Foundation CEO, board out over alleged Beijing-linked donation

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.” Read more: Trudeau Foundation to return $200K donation over alleged link to China 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.