How China Courted, Cultivated, and Cornered Ottawa | The Walrus

"I had already heard that, historically, Ottawa took a juvenile view of intelligence. I was told lawmakers liked receiving it but not acting on it. Instead of using the insights provided by intelligence reports to help direct policy decisions, they created conditions for a uniquely Canadian iteration of plausible deniability. Instead of the government being able to deny involvement in an important decision, the Canadian version of the concept relied on denying they even knew what was happening."

"Adhering to a culture like this could be disastrous in the Xi Jinping era, when the new president of the PRC is seeking to make China a hegemonic power in the world and has ramped up the country's 'united front' efforts, along with espionage and cyber intrusions. (The United Front Work Department, or UFWD, is the Chinese Communist Party's main body for engaging in overseas influence.)"

"Justin Trudeau was elected prime minister in 2015, and his declaration of Canada's return might as well have been spoken directly to Beijing. He had campaigned on improving relations with China, making it a "top priority," according to the Prime Minister's Office. The next year, he made an official visit to the People's Republic of China and began exploratory talks on a free trade deal, and-in a move that must have left Canada's pro-democracy activists in shock-even considered an extradition treaty."

Justin Trudeau's 2015 election prioritized restoring ties with China, prompting a 2016 official visit, exploratory free-trade talks, and consideration of an extradition treaty. Historical Canadian practices treated intelligence as something to receive but not act upon, fostering a culture of plausible deniability that relied on officials claiming ignorance. That approach risks failure as Xi Jinping pursues greater global influence and expands united front work, espionage, and cyber intrusions. Senior Canadian diplomats and political figures expressed growing concern about Chinese assertiveness and a shift away from pragmatic engagement toward a more zero-sum posture in bilateral dealings.

Read at The Walrus