Canada “will not be intimidated” after China expelled a Canadian diplomat Tuesday in retaliation for Ottawa removing a Beijing delegate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.
Relations between the two nations have soured amid allegations of attempted interference in Canadian society and elections by the Chinese communist regime, but they took another hit Monday when Ottawa declared Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei “persona non grata.”
Calls for Zhao to be expelled began last week after The Globe and Mail reported the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had information in 2021 that Beijing was looking at ways to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong. The federal government has confirmed that report.
“This is a decision we took seriously, we took with careful consideration, in order to do the right thing and expel the Chinese diplomat. We understand there is retaliation, but we will not be intimidated and we will continue to do everything necessary to keep our Canadians protected from foreign interference,” Trudeau said Tuesday.
China also promised further unspecified retaliatory measures in response to the expulsion.
“These are things that we considered, but we decided that we needed to move forward in a responsible way to send a very clear message that we will not accept foreign interference,” Trudeau said.
“Regardless of whatever next choices they make, we will not be intimidated and more, we will ensure that China continues to see, along with other countries that are engaging in foreign interference, that we take this extraordinarily seriously.”
China has denied the allegations that it targeted Chong after the MP voted in February 2021 in favour of a motion in the House of Commons condemning China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority as a genocide.
The following month, China sanctioned Chong, barring him from entering the country and prohibiting Chinese citizens from conducting business with him. But the CSIS document allegedly details further actions Beijing took to put pressure on Chong, including targeting his relatives in Hong Kong.
The report also alleged China was targeting dozens of other Canadian MPs in a similar way. The identities of those MPs have not been released.
In declaring Zhao persona non grata — a foreign diplomat declared by a host nation as an unwelcome person — Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Monday that other diplomats in Canada have been warned they will be sent home if they engage in acts of foreign interference.
Global News reported on Sunday that Canada appears not to have expelled a foreign diplomat since 2018.
“It shouldn’t have taken this long,” Chong told reporters in Ottawa following Monday’s announcement.
“It shouldn’t have taken the targeting of a member of Parliament to make this decision. We have known for years that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is using its accredited diplomats here in Canada to target Canadians and their families.”
Joly said Ottawa takes note of the expulsion, adding in French that Lalonde is a “very respected” career diplomat who has “always respected the Vienna Convention” that governs diplomatic relations. Joly said she and Lalonde will be speaking later on Tuesday.
As for Canadians in China, the travel advisory remains unchanged, Joly said. Canadians are advised to have a high degree of caution due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of laws.
“We will adapt it to make sure that Canadians are always made aware of the different risks linked to traveling in a foreign country,” she said.
On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry posted a statement on its English website saying China was deploying a “reciprocal countermeasure to Canada’s unscrupulous move,” which it said it “strongly condemns and firmly opposes.”
The statement said Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, has been asked to leave before May 13.
The allegations regarding Chong have put additional pressure on the Liberal government to explain how and when foreign interference allegations are raised with top officials, as well as what Ottawa is doing to safeguard its national security from foreign threats.
That news spurred Trudeau to order CSIS to inform the government if there are threats made against any MP or their family — regardless of whether they are considered credible.
Trudeau has been under pressure to order a public inquiry into the allegations of Chinese interference, but instead tapped former governor general David Johnston to make that call as Ottawa’s special rapporteur.
Johnston has until May 23 to decide whether a public inquiry is needed, or whether a different kind of independent process such as a judicial review, would be more appropriate.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and The Canadian Press
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