Conservatives Urge Liberal Government to Recognize Venezuelan Opposition Leader as President

Venezuela's Edmundo González Urrutia waves as he was awarded the EU's top human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Dec. 17, 2024. Pascal Bastien/AP Photo

Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to recognize exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González as president-elect.

In a statement issued on Dec. 30, Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong noted that Venezuela’s scheduled inauguration on Jan. 10, 2025, is fast approaching, and incumbent President Nicolás Maduro seeks to “illegitimately install himself to a third term,” despite controversy over the 2024 election results.

“Maduro has suppressed last July’s election results by ruthlessly repressing Venezuelans standing up for democracy, including killing dozens and jailing thousands,” Chong wrote, adding that the Venezuelan government had earlier barred another opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, from running for president.

Although Venezuela’s National Electoral Council and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice—both closely aligned with Maduro—have declared him the winner with a narrow 52 percent of the vote, an opposition investigation says González received twice as many votes.

In the weeks following Venezuela’s election in July, the Maduro government repressed widespread demonstrations against the regime, resulting in at least 28 deaths, 43 forced disappearances, and 2,000 arbitrary detentions. This clampdown prompted González to flee to Spain on Sept. 7, according to Global Affairs Canada.

Demonstrators confront riot police during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government in Puerto La Cruz, Anzoategui state, Venezuela, on July 29, 2024. Carlos Landaeta/AFP via Getty Images

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people in an August statement, calling for the release of those arbitrarily detained. Later, in December, she announced sanctions against five Venezuelan officials, including the president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, a top court judge, and a member of the National Electoral Council, citing their roles in undermining the country’s democracy.

However, Chong called on the Liberal government to take further action by “clearly recognizing” González as Venezuela’s president-elect.

On Dec. 30, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had called González, reaffirming U.S. support for the Venezuelan people’s choice. Meanwhile, members of the European Parliament have voted in favour of a resolution that recognized González as Venezuela’s legitimately elected president.

Displacing Venezuelan Oil

The Conservatives also called on Ottawa to discuss with the incoming U.S. administration ways to “displace Venezuelan oil” by boosting Canadian oil exports to the United States.

“Conservatives understand the importance of energy to our economy and to North American security,” Chong wrote in the statement, adding that proposed measures will “hasten change in Venezuela by putting more pressure on the Maduro regime.”

In 2017, during his first term, then-U.S. President Donald Trump imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm PDVSA, followed by a full oil embargo in 2019. The embargo froze all PDVSA assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibited U.S. entities from engaging with the company.

In October 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden temporarily lifted some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sectors in exchange for promises of releasing political prisoners and fair 2024 elections. However, most sanctions were reimposed in April after the U.S. State Department stated that the Maduro regime had failed to honor the agreement to hold free elections.

Chong also highlighted Maduro’s suppression of democracy and human rights since taking office in 2013, which, he said, has triggered a migration crisis. Venezuelans have fled to neighbouring countries, with an estimated 7.8 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants worldwide, according to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.