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The new “strategic partnership” that Prime Minister 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.

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Wang Di, China’s ambassador [to Canada], 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.

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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 frigate has made one trip, in September, 2025, along with an Australian destroyer.

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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 Lai Ching-Te and other officials. This happened shortly before Mr. Carney’s meeting in Beijing.

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“Canadian parliamentarians – they have official status. So of course, if these parliamentarians conduct any official engagement with the Taiwan side that will be hurtful,” Mr. Wang said.

“Any official engagement between China and Canada should only happen between the People’s Republic of China and Canada,” the envoy said.

Canadian warships often traverse the Taiwan Strait with other Western countries … “Sending warships through the Taiwan Strait and doing harassment and even provocation, of course, that is in violation of the One China principle, and that also violates China’s territorial integrity,” the envoy said, referring to Beijing’s policy on Taiwan.

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Diplomatic relations between Canada and China entered a deep freeze in late 2018 when Beijing locked up two Canadians in retaliation for Ottawa arresting a Huawei executive on a U.S. extradition order. Things worsened as Canada joined other Western countries in criticizing China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority in Xinjiang and a crackdown in Hong Kong.

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One legacy of that period is Canadian MP Michael Chong and the House of Commons subcommittee on human rights remain under sanction by the Chinese government.

These measures persist even though China has lifted sanctions on MPs in the British Parliament, members of the European parliament as well as a subcommittee of the European parliament.

The Chinese measures targeting Mr. Chong and the Commons subcommittee were applied after Canada joined with the U.S., Britain and the European Union in imposing human-rights-related sanctions against officials in Xinjiang.

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