Canadian diplomats have quietly but frequently raising concerns over foreign interference and surveillance with their Chinese counterparts over the past two years, newly-released documents show.
A document published by the foreign interference commission Friday shows a total of 48 “representations” to People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials since September 2022. The general topic of “foreign interference” has been raised 31 times in total, including four formal diplomatic letters.
The document also shows Canadian officials raised Chinese overseas “police stations” 20 times, surveillance balloons twice, and two meetings on a former PRC diplomat, Zhao Wei, who was expelled from Canada over foreign interference concerns.
It’s a quieter part of the federal government’s overall response to foreign interference — clandestine operations aimed at shaping Canadian domestic politics chiefly from the PRC, but also countries like India, Iran and Russia.
But the document shows that, away from the public eye, Chinese officials were well aware the federal government was concerned about their alleged meddling in …