Canada is failing to combat the spread of Chinese influence that is “alive and well” throughout the country, one prominent student leader says.

And she argues the presence of politicians like former Ontario trade minister Michael Chan as a headliner at a rally last week to mobilize the Chinese diaspora against pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong is just another sign of how far Beijing’s influence has spread.

It says these states and other, unnamed ones target ethnocultural communities, try to corrupt the political process, manipulate the media and influence debate on university campuses.