Just before Canadians headed to the voting booth to decide on a candidate to fight against U.S. President Donald Trump and his threats against Canadian sovereignty, China started a campaign to recruit Canada to join its side in the trade war against the United States. Wang Di, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, expressed interest to “form a partnership” with Canada to push back against U.S. “bullying” in an interview with Canadian media.
Wang claimed that “China has always regarded Canada as our friend and partner.” Yet, looking back at the diplomatic struggles between Canada and China, the statement from the Chinese diplomat sounds contradictory. The two countries have been at odds since December 2018, when Canadian authorities arrested Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States. In response, China arrested Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, more commonly known as “the two Michaels,” to pressure the Canadian government to release Meng. Though Beijing insisted that the arrests were unrelated to Meng’s case, Kovrig and Spavor were both released in 2021, just after Meng reached a deal with the U.S. prosecutors.
The end of the three-year-long arbitrary detention saga did not improve diplomatic relations between Canada and China. Rather, it ultimately led to thorough examinations of China’s strategic interests and clandestine activities in Canada. Allegations of Chinese secret police stations in Canada and covert activities to interfere with the 2019 and 2021 Canadian general elections led to government public inquiries into foreign interference and further scrutiny of China in the Canadian Parliament.
It is not surprising that China is interested in Canadian technologies and the Canadian market, but public inquiries and media investigations indicate that Beijing’s activities are also aimed at transnational oppression, election interference, and increasing its influence over the Canadian public. China hopes to prepare for further geopolitical conflicts with the United States, and it sees an opportunity to take advantage of the recent Canadian election and the economic uncertainty in Canada to achieve its strategic goals.
The tariffs initiated by Trump put Canada in a difficult situation. The Canadian economy saw a 0.2 percent contraction in February 2025. The potential impacts on exports to the United States and economic uncertainty also jeopardize Canadian jobs and long-term economic prospects. Furthermore, Trump has continued to threaten Canadian sovereignty by constantly advocating for Canada to become the 51st state. Trump also mockingly called former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “governor.”
Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty became the major theme in the recent Canadian general election. Witnessing the politics of Trump and the impacts of those ideologies in the United States, Canadian voters made a clear choice against right-wing populism by electing a Liberal government for the fourth time since 2015. Mark Carney, the Liberal leader who replaced the increasingly unpopular Justin Trudeau, led the party to rebound from a 20-point poll deficit last year to a victory in the 2025 general election. However, the Liberals fell short of forming a majority government despite winning the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons, leaving Prime Minister Carney and his Cabinet with greater political uncertainty in the fight against the ongoing trade war with the United States.
China hopes a new Canadian government could take a different approach from the Trudeau era. However, the vast difference between Canada and China in political ideologies, views on international affairs, and trade practices makes further collaborations difficult. Canada continues to charge a 100 percent import tax on Chinese electric vehicles. China retaliated with tariffs on Canadian canola oil and pork. It is worth noting that when Meng, the Huawei CFO, was arrested, China also targeted the same two Canadian products to achieve its political goals. To put more pressure on Canadians to release Meng, China also arbitrarily halted a major Canadian COVID-19 vaccine research project by stopping the vaccine samples from coming to Canada.
The clashes between Canada and China over the last seven years across a wide range of issues – human rights, trade practices, regional security, and election interference – have made it hard to build trust. Knowing firsthand that Beijing will weaponize trade and economic ties for political gains, Canada’s new government is unlikely to see China as a solution to its challenges. After all, Carney called China the biggest threat to Canada in the election debate.
The political pressure from opposition parties and public opinion also made it unlikely for China to secure any commitments from the Canadian government. In the past election campaign, the Liberal Party was forced to replace a candidate who had urged Canadians to bring a Conservative candidate who advocates for democracy in Hong Kong to the Chinese Consulate Office to collect a bounty. The party faced further embarrassment after media outlets discovered that Peter Yuen, the new Liberal candidate, had links to pro-China organizations.
Another Liberal candidate, Majid Jowhari, echoed the Chinese ambassador to Canada and argued that Canada should deepen ties with China amid the ongoing trade war with the United States. Jowhari declined to respond after facing further media scrutiny. He was subsequently defeated in the election on April 28.
China made its invitation to Canada at an interesting time. Beijing hopes to take advantage of the global trade war caused by Trump to form a closer diplomatic relationship with a wide range of countries, from Southeast Asia to Europe and Canada. Yet it is hard for potential partners to overlook China’s willingness to weaponize its trade and economic leverage against other countries to achieve its political goals. Canada and China have vastly different approaches to major global issues, and these differences will not disappear. As a recent victim of Chinese arbitrary trade practices, Canada should not see China as a reliable trading partner despite facing difficulties with the United States.