Ottawa Says China Executed 4 Canadians This Year

Prisoners walk beside a police escort during a prison open day in Nanjing, China, in 2005.STR/AFP/Getty Images

The People’s Republic of China executed four Canadians earlier this year, Global Affairs Canada says, adding that it condemns the act by China.

“Canada strongly condemns China’s use of the death penalty, which is irreversible and inconsistent with basic human dignity,” departmental spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod told The Epoch Times in a statement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said on March 19 that four Chinese-Canadian dual citizens were among those executed in China this year. She said no further information could be provided due to privacy concerns.

“We will continue to engage with China as we continue to not only strongly condemn but also ask for leniency for other Canadians facing a similar situation,” Joly said.

China is considered the world’s “leading executioner” according to investigations by human rights organizations. The Chinese regime does not disclose data on the topic.

MacLeod said senior officials have repeatedly called for clemency for the individuals on death row and that the department now continues to provide consular assistance to the victims’ families.

The department has confirmed that Abbotsford, B.C., man Robert Schellenberg was not one of the prisoners who were executed. Schellenberg was convicted for drug smuggling by a Chinese court in 2018. Following a retrial, his 15-year prison sentence was changed into a death sentence in January 2019. A court upheld the death sentence in 2021 after an appeal.

“Canada continues to advocate for clemency for Robert Schellenberg and provides him and his family consular assistance,” said MacLeod.

The decision to sentence Schellenberg to death in early 2019 came shortly after Canada had arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant in December 2018.

Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were taken into custody by Chinese authorities a few days later. The two men were released in September 2021 after being detained for more than 1,000 days, shortly after Meng was released from house arrest in Vancouver.

Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong condemned the recent executions of Canadians by China, saying they are the result of a “highly politicized” justice system, as demonstrated by the cases of Kovrig, Spavor, and Schellenberg.

“Executing a number of Canadians in short order is unprecedented, and is clearly a sign that Beijing has no intention of improving relations with Canada,” Chong said on social media.

A Dec. 18, 2024, memorandum to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on complex consular cases, released under the access-to-information regime, said that Global Affairs was aware of 972 Canadians in custody abroad, including 12 death penalty cases. Of those, five were in China, four in the United States, two in Vietnam, and one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Known Canadians who have been given a death sentence in China in recent years include Ye Jianhui, Xu Weihong, and Fan Wei. All convictions were related to drug trafficking.

The recent executions of Canadians by the Chinese regime come at a time of continued strained relations between Ottawa and Beijing. Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum last fall, while China retaliated earlier this month by announcing tariffs on Canada’s agricultural and seafood sectors.

Editor’s note: This article was updated after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed the number of Canadian citizens who were executed in China this year.