Carney’s China Deal Backfires: Canada Faces Harsh New Demands From Beijing

So, the prime minister goes to China,

but then someone's going to ask, "What

about your two MPs in in Taiwan right

now?" It distracts from the message. And

I wouldn't read too much into the

decision. I would say,

>> "Chinese envoy warns Canada against

sending MPs to Taiwan or warships

through the Taiwan Strait. This creates

a big problem for Mr. Carney.

Back in January, Mark Carney pulled two

Liberal MPs back from Taiwan as he was

preparing to travel to China to secure

his strategic partnership with the

country that he called the greatest

threat to Canadian sovereignty during

the election. Now that the deal is

signed, China is doing what everybody

warned Carney about before he made that

deal. They are adding new conditions and

putting Mark Carney in a corner.

Let's take a look.

Chinese envoy warns Canada against

sending MPs to Taiwan or warships

through the Taiwan Strait from the Glob

and Mail. The new quote unquote

strategic partnership that Mark Carney

struck with China this year would be

damaged if Ottawa sends more military

vessels through the Taiwan Strait or if

Canadian parliamentarians keep meeting

with officials in Taiwan. Beijing's

envoy says in an interview Thursday,

Wang D, China's ambassador, said he's

optimistic about warming ties between

Beijing and Ottawa, but laid down

expectations for how Canada deals with

the self-governed island of Taiwan going

forward. Canadian MPs and senators visit

Taiwan regularly on trips paid for by

the Taiwanese government and have done

so for decades. The trips have normally

included meetings with Taiwan's foreign

minister or its president or vice

president. Under former Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau, Canadian warships

transited the Taiwan Strait 11 times

over the objections of Beijing starting

in 2018. Under Mr. Carney's government,

a Canadian frigot has made one trip in

September 2025 along with an Australian

destroyer. The People's Republic of

China considers Taiwan, which lies 160

km off its coastline, to be a breakaway

province, and the straight between the

two an internal waterway. Taiwan, where

many from the losing side of China's

civil war fled in 1949, calls itself the

Republic of China. Quote, "There is only

one China in the world, and Taiwan is an

inalienable part of China's territory."

End quote. Mr. Wang said Thursday in an

interview, quote, "The Taiwan question

is a red line that should never be

crossed and is at the core interest of

China. It constitutes an important

political foundation for the bilateral

relationship between our two countries."

End quote. In January, two Canadian MPs

from the Governing Liberal Caucus cut

short a trip to Taiwan just before the

parliamentary delegation they were with

was due to meet Taiwanese President

Liang Ti and other officials. This

happened shortly before Mr. Carney's

meeting in Beijing. Quote, Canadian

parliamentarians, they have official

status, so of course if these

parliamentarians conduct any official

engagement with the Taiwan side, that

will be hurtful. End quote. Mr. Wang

said, quote, "Any official engagement

between China and Canada should only

happen between the People's Republic of

China and Canada." End quote. The envoy

said. So,

not even a few months after this

breakthrough conversation and all the

other terms that Mr. Carney used for it,

he probably used the term catalyze at

least once or twice. But not even a few

months after all of that, we now have

China saying, "Hey, yeah, so we signed

that deal, and by the way, you're not

sending anybody else to Taiwan."

This creates a big problem for Mr.

Carney. Because it all goes back to what

the article referenced in terms of those

two MPs being recalled from Taiwan right

before Mark Carney actually went to

China. A lot of people called it out. We

called it out as well. And we called it

out because it seemed to be Mark Carney

cowtowing to China and not wanting to

upset them prior to actually going

there. Well, why would it upset them? He

knows why it would upset them, which is

why he called them back. Now, the

Conservatives said, uh, another country

doesn't get to decide where are our

people actually get to go in the world.

So, the Conservatives left their MPs

that were already in Taiwan there. So

they actually met with the president and

they went met met with other officials

in Taiwan while the liberals retreated

home.

So, isn't it interesting that now we are

getting new instructions from the big

bosses over in China and those

instructions are telling Mark Carney

where he can and cannot send his members

of parliament that were elected by the

Canadian people, not the Chinese

government.

And I want to take everybody back to a

panel that CBC held when these two MPs

were actually recalled. This was before

Mark Carney actually had his discussions

in China. It was before he had his press

conferences. So this is very revealing.

>> Well, I don't think their communications

was the best done here. Um, I would say

I wouldn't read too much into the

decision. I would say what it is that

Kenda has to speak with one voice and

anything that is different from that. So

the prime minister goes to China but

then someone's going to ask what about

your two MPs in in Taiwan right now. It

distracts from the message and the

government of Canada has to speak with

one voice right now. And I think that is

actually the real the real thing at hand

and from political operations

perspective you want the focus to be on

what the communication of the prime

minister is doing not what other MPs are

doing. A lot of these trips, just to

give background, are like state

sponsored, so they take MPs who are not

parliamentary secretaries or ministers

to these trips, but I don't necessarily

always feel like they add necessarily

value. But it doesn't show a change in

our position on Taiwan or on China that

hasn't changed under Harper, Trudeau, or

Mr. Harney.

>> Okay, so she's saying, "Oh, don't read

too much into it.

Don't read too much into it." You know,

it's just because Canon wants to speak

with one voice. It's just they're

they're going to be a distraction.

That's that's the only reason he's doing

it. That's the only reason Mark Carney

is recalling these two MPs from Taiwan

right before his visit with China. Don't

read into us. Nothing to see here.

Got it. Just on that Vana, there there's

still going to be Canadian members of

parliament there, right? The

Conservatives who are there are not

coming home. And I know we draw a sharp

distinction here. don't know if they do

in mainland China. Uh it feels like they

don't. So like, you know, isn't any MP

there going to present the same

challenge, liberal or not?

>> I don't think it's any MP. I think it

would just definitely be their liberal

leader. So it is it is the prime

minister, but it's the same party. So I

think even from a China perspective or

anyone's perspective, it would be seen

as different. Um because he's the prime

minister, again, they have to speak with

one voice, but I don't think there'll be

confusion if there other MPs there. um

they don't take direction for the prime

minister necessarily in the same way. Uh

it is not the leader of their party. So

I don't think they'll be seen in the

same way.

>> Kate, uh how do you see it?

>> The confusion that's being created is by

calling the government MPs back from the

trip. uh if the presence of government

MPs in Taiwan is so troubling to China

uh that that would derail an entire