Canada's strategy for navigating growing tensions with China was in disarray on Saturday, January 26, 2019, after Justin Trudeau fired his ambassador to Beijing.
Canada's ambassador to China admitted to an ill-timed and politically explosive slip of the tongue when he suggested detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou had a strong case to avoid extradition to the United States.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is dismissing calls to remove Canada's ambassador to China from his post, saying such a change wouldn't help two Canadians detained by Chinese authorities get home sooner.
John McCallum, Canada's ambassador to China, says there are strong legal arguments Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou can make to help her avoid extradition to the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice will formally ask Canada to extradite the chief financial officer of Chinese tech titan Huawei, ensuring a protracted global dispute that one former American diplomat says will have lasting and dangerous repercussions for all three countries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharpened his core re-election message on Sunday, January 20, 2019, telling his MPs to present a positive message to Canadians while he branded his Conservative opponents as a detached party of the elite.
More needs to be done on the diplomatic front before the prime minister tries personally to settle the fight between Ottawa and Beijing that has left two Canadians detained in China and another facing the death penalty, Canada's ambassador to China said on Friday, January 18, 2019, after appearing at a Commons committee.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau painted a rosy picture of Canada's economic future on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, despite diplomatic and political upheavals around the world that could disrupt global trade and impede growth just as this country prepares to head to the polls in October.
China rebuffed the latest broadside from Canada over its detention of Canadian citizens, rejecting the assertion that China's behaviour poses a threat to all nations.
The United States has denounced a death sentence imposed on a British Columbia man in China as "politically motivated," adding heft to Ottawa's effort to intensify international pressure on Beijing to spare his life and to release two other detained Canadians.
Canada shot back at China on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, branding the death sentence imposed on a British Columbia man as inhumane and flaunting the support of its allies in trying to win the release of two other imprisoned Canadians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to shore up international support in the diplomatic feud with China over Canadian detainees, including the pending death sentence to an alleged drug smuggler from British Columbia.
A former Canadian diplomat detained in China last month does not enjoy diplomatic immunity, a Chinese spokeswoman said on Monday, January 14, 2019, rejecting a complaint from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the man's rights were being denied.
Donald Trump has affirmed his respect for judicial independence, the Prime Minister's Office says, less than a month after the U.S. president baldly said he would intervene in Meng Wanzhou's pending extradition from Canada if it would help forge a trade deal with China.