Conservative MP Dean Allison says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s upcoming trip to China rewards a regime that is interfering in Canada’s affairs and committing human rights abuses.
“And the reward? A visit from Canada’s Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the United States is apparently the partner we should keep at arm’s length.”
Carney received the invitation to visit China during a meeting with Xi on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Oct. 31 2025.
Chinese Interference in Canada
Carney’s trip to China will mark the first time a prime minister has visited the country since 2017, when former Prime Minister Trudeau sought closer relations and a free trade agreement with Beijing.However, Trudeau’s attempts at closer ties unravelled after Canada executed a U.S. extradition warrant for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was accused of fraud, in 2018. China responded by arbitrarily detaining Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and keeping them in custody for more than 1,000 days.
Relations between Canada and China deteriorated further in the years following due to allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections and secret police stations targeting Chinese diaspora in Canada.
Dong became the MP for the riding in 2019 and won re-election in 2021, but in 2023 stepped away from the party to sit as an independent following allegations of improper ties to Beijing. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The Foreign Interference Commission’s report said that during the 2021 federal election, then-Conservative Leader Erin O‘Toole was targeted by inaccurate reports circulated by Chinese-language media outlets with ties to Beijing, which O’Toole said was due to his party’s criticism of the PRC.
During the same election, Conservative MP Kenny Chiu was also targeted with “false narratives” related to his proposal for a foreign influence registry, according to intelligence officials. It was falsely alleged that any individual or group with ties to the Chinese regime would need to register, and Chiu said his attempts to counter these narratives were not reported by Chinese Canadian media outlets.
The Commission’s report found that China was the “most active perpetrator” of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democracy, and views Canada as a “high-priority target” due to its large Chinese diaspora and membership in various defence alliances.
The report also said Chinese police stations operating on Canadian soil presented “challenges,” as some were run by Canadian citizens and thus the perpetrators could not be deported.
