Ottawa: Canada has strongly condemned China’s execution of four Canadian citizens convicted of drug smuggling, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly announced on Wednesday. The executions, carried out earlier this year, have further strained diplomatic ties between Ottawa and Beijing.
Speaking to reporters, Joly revealed that all four individuals held dual citizenship and reaffirmed Canada’s opposition to the death penalty. She stated that the Canadian government would continue advocating for leniency for other Canadians facing similar sentences in China.
In a separate statement, Canada’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian sentenced to death in 2019 for drug smuggling, had not been executed. His case had drawn international attention, with Ottawa previously denouncing his sentencing as politically motivated.
Tensions between Canada and China have remained high since 2018 when Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the Trump administration. In apparent retaliation, Beijing detained two Canadian citizens, escalating diplomatic friction. Meng and the two Canadians were eventually released in 2021, but relations have remained fraught.
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Earlier this month, Beijing imposed tariffs exceeding $2.6 billion on Canadian agricultural and food products. The move came in response to levies Ottawa placed on Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum imports last year, adding another layer of economic discord between the two nations.
China’s embassy in Ottawa dismissed Canada’s criticism, calling it an irresponsible reaction.
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“China always imposed severe penalties on drug-related crimes and maintains a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude towards the drug problem,” the embassy stated, without confirming whether the executions had indeed taken place.
