TORONTO – China has executed four Canadians in recent months, the Canadian Foreign Minister said Wednesday. Executions of such Westerners are relatively rare.
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly said she and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had sought generosity in drug-related accusations involving double citizens.
The Beijing Embassy in Ottawa said the executions were due to drug crimes, noting that China is not aware of double citizenship.
“We strongly condemn the execution,” Jolie told reporters in Ottawa. “I personally sought generosity… They were all double citizens.”
Jolie said Canada consistently seeks generosity from Canadians facing the death penalty overseas. She said the family asked the government to withhold details of the identities of the four individuals.
Global Affairs spokeswoman Charlotte McLeod said the government continues to provide consular support to families and has called on the media to respect privacy. She said Ottawa continues to defend the tolerance of Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian sentenced to death for drug smuggling.
“China has always imposes serious penalties on drug-related crimes,” a spokesman for the Chinese embassy said. “The facts of the crimes committed by the Canadians involved in the incident are clear, and the evidence is solid and sufficient.”
China is believed to execute more prisoners than a combination of more prisoners than other parts of the world, but the total is the state’s secret. Executions are traditionally carried out by gunshots, but in recent years, fatal injections have been introduced.
An embassy spokesman said Beijing “has fully guaranteed the rights and interests of Canadian citizens involved,” urging the Canadian government to “stop irresponsible remarks.”
There are some tensions in both countries. China levied retaliation fees on Canadian farms and food imports earlier this month after Canada tasked with China-made electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products in October. Tariffs add to global trade tensions amid the round of tariff announcements by the US, China, Canada and Mexico.
“China is sending a message that if we want to see improvements in relations, we need to take action,” said Guy Sanjack, former Canadian ambassador to Canada.
Ian Brody, former chief of staff to former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, posted on social media that “agricultural tariffs were not the worst part of the PRC’s response to EV tariffs.”
And opposition conservative MP Michael Chong said “running many Canadians in a short period of time is unprecedented and clearly shows that Beijing has no intention of improving relations with Canada.”
China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, but relationships have been sluggish since 2018 when Canadian authorities arrested a former Huawei executive who the US indicted for fraud.
China imprisoned two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company’s founder, on a US extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in 2021. On the same day, Meng returned to China after signing a contract with US authorities in her case.
Many countries called China’s actions “hostage politics,” and described the accusations against Howey and Meng as attempts to motivate China’s economic and technological developments.
Amnesty International condemned the execution, noting that China executed thousands of people in 2023.
“These shocking and inhuman executions of Canadian citizens by Chinese authorities should be a call for Canada’s awakening,” Ketti Nibyabandi, head of the English-speaking Canadian group, said in a statement Wednesday.
