Canada‘s Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that China poses one of the biggest threats in terms of foreign interference and is an emerging danger in the Arctic.
In a debate on Thursday night ahead of the April 28 election, Carney replied “China,” when asked to name Canada’s biggest security threat.
Asked to elaborate at a news conference in Niagara Falls on Friday, Carney said Canada has to counter China’s foreign interference threats. He also criticised China for being a partner with Russia in the war with Ukraine and said it is a threat to broader Asia and Taiwan in particular.
Biggest Geopolitical Threat
Carney said China is the biggest threat “from a geopolitical sense.”
“We’re taking action to address,” he added.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Liberal Party’s Election Campaign
Carney’s Liberal Party is leading polls as the campaign enters its final stretch.
Canada is also locked in a trade war with its long-term ally, the United States. Canada has imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian autos, steel and aluminium, and goods that do not comply with a North American Free Trade deal.
Carney said Canada would not try to match the U.S. dollar for dollar in retaliation, but said the entire global trading system is being reordered.
“That level of shared values with the U.S. is shifting, so our level of engagement will shift,” he said.
Engaging Beyond US And China
There were opportunities for Canada to engage beyond the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, he said.
“There are huge opportunities in Europe, in ASEAN, Mercosur, other parts of the world where we can further deepen, and we should, and I think we will,” Carney said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
