Key points
- China biggest threat “from a geopolitical sense”: Carney
- Says China a threat to broader Asia and Taiwan in particular
- China a partner with Russia in Ukraine war: Carney
ISLAMABAD: Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said that China is one of the largest threats with respect to foreign interference in Canada and is an emerging threat in the Arctic.
According to Reuters, in a debate 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 Chinese 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 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.
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 US goods in response to US tariffs on Canadian autos, steel and aluminum, and goods that do not comply with a North American Free Trade deal.
Carney said Canada would not try to match the US dollar for dollar in retaliation, but said the entire global trading system is being reordered.
“That level of shared values with the US is shifting, so our level of engagement will shift,” he said.
“Huge opportunities”
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, according to Reuters.
According to AP, earlier, Prime Minister Carney on Wednesday had also said the key question in Canada’s election is who is best to deal with US President Donald Trump while his Conservative rival argued that Carney does not represent change after a decade of Liberal Party rule.
Opposition Conservative Pierre Poilievre said Canada needs change and Carney is just like his predecessor Justin Trudeau.
“Mr. Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump,” Carney said.
Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Liberal Party poll numbers ahead of the April 28 vote.
