Chinese-Canadians Say Cabinet Must ‘Stand Up’ to Beijing Even If It Worsens Relationship: Internal Federal Poll

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (centre L) and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, (centre R) join fellow leaders as they arrive at the G20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Chinese-Canadians say cabinet ministers must “stand up” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) even if it will worsen the relationship between the two countries, according to an internal poll conducted for the federal government.

“While the Sino-Canadian economic relationship continued to be viewed as important, a number of participants expressed the need to balance this with the Government of Canada’s ongoing commitment to human rights,” said a Privy Council Office report, titled “Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views.”

“It was felt these were important principles to stand up for even if it ran the risk of further increasing tension with China.”

The July 26 report, first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, was based on findings drawn from focus groups with Chinese-Canadians. The Privy Council Office commissioned the survey under a $2.4 million annual contract with The Strategic Counsel.

The report noted that as Beijing extends its dominance globally, Canada and its allies, such as the United States, “had been compelled to take a closer look at their economic ties with China, as well as the reported human rights abuses taking place within China’s borders.”

“Regarding this latter issue some participants expressed the view Canada was not currently doing enough to speak out against human rights issues in China and was exhibiting too much caution in its willingness to be critical of the Chinese government,” researchers wrote.

In February 2021, Conservative MP Michael Chong introduced a motion in the House of Commons to recognize the CCP’s mistreatment of Uyghurs as genocide. MPs of all political stripes voted unanimously in support of the motion except for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet, who abstained from voting.

A similar episode happened on Oct. 25 when the House adopted a motion introduced by Conservative MP Garnett Genuis. It asked parliamentarians to concur with a report from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that calls on the federal government to provide a safe haven for Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims who are targets of “an ongoing genocide” at the hands of the Chinese regime.

‘Very Few’ Want Stronger Ties

The Canadians’ Views report said while most respondents felt the federal government should continue to maintain an economic and trade relationship with China, “very few wanted to see the development of stronger ties.”

“Several felt by doing so Canada would run the risk of alienating crucial allies such as the United States as well as potentially expose itself to security risks, particularly those related to cybersecurity and espionage.”

In September 2021, the White House announced the establishment of AUKUS—a defence pact between Australia, the UK, and the United States—to “deepen diplomatic, security, and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Trudeau downplayed the exclusion of Canada from the pact, saying “it is a deal for nuclear submarines, which Canada is not currently or any time soon in the market for; Australia is.”

Testifying before the parliamentary House Affairs committee on Nov. 3, Adam Fisher, director general of intelligence assessments at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said China is the “foremost aggressor” in foreign interference in Canada.

“China … is more interested in working within the system to corrupt it, compromising officials, and elected officials, and individuals at all levels of government, within industry, within civil society—so using our open and free society for their nefarious purposes,” he said.

During the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15, Trudeau’s office said the prime minister spoke with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, raising concerns about Chinese interference in Canada and media reports of de facto police stations operating in Canada, among several issues.

Xi confronted Trudeau the next day, telling him that he shouldn’t have “leaked” details of their conversation to the media.

“Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper; that’s not appropriate,” Xi told Trudeau through an interpreter.

“That’s not how, the way the conversation was conducted. If there is sincerity on your part…” Xi continued, finishing the sentence without translation, saying that “we will proceed with mutual respect, otherwise the result will be hard to say.”

Andrew Chen contributed to this report.