OTTAWA - A Canadian parliamentary committee on Thursday approved a motion calling on the federal government to launch a public inquiry into allegations of foreign electoral interference after hearing testimonies from senior intelligence officials.

The motion is non-binding but increases pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government to launch a broad public inquiry into whether foreign actors, particularly China, have attempted to interfere in the 2021 general election and 2019. Groups have their pressure this week reinforced to such a step.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang dismissed allegations that Chinese embassies and consulates in Canada were trying to interfere in Canadian elections, calling them "completely false and nonsense."

Liberal lawmakers on the House Affairs and Procedures Committee voted against the motion for a broad public inquiry but lost 6 to 5 to lawmakers from the opposition parties.

The vote came after the head of Canada's Intelligence Agency told the committee that there had been no major foreign electoral interference in the country's last two votes, but that an investigation into media reports, citing secret intelligence agencies, into Chinese influence was ongoing and may be.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director David Vigneault said he agreed with the findings of a committee of inquiry that the results of the 2019 and 2021 elections had not been compromised.

He declined to confirm recent unconfirmed Canadian media reports citing anonymous intelligence sources and pointing to concrete attempts by China to interfere in both elections. Vigneault said CSIS and other national security partners are investigating the sources of the leaks.

"The bread and butter of an intelligence organization is our ability to collect and preserve secrets and use those secrets with the appropriate people," he said. “When this ability is threatened, it undermines the trust of our partners at the national and international level."

Canada is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance with the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.

Trudeau acknowledged that there had been attempts at Chinese interference but insisted that the voting results had not been altered. On Monday, Trudeau denied a report that Beijing had backed a liberal candidate who is now a member of parliament.

Vigneault said Thursday that CSIS would be involved if a public inquiry were opened, but added that discussing classified information would be a "key conundrum," echoing earlier comments from Canada's top security adviser, Jody Thomas.