Scheer said he worries Liberal officials are already telling their Chinese counterparts that 'Justin Trudeau is better for China than he is for Canada'

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is accusing former Liberal cabinet minister John McCallum of an “invitation of foreign interference in the Canadian election” after McCallum’s comments on the deteriorating Canada-China relationship were published in a Hong Kong newspaper.

McCallum, who was fired as the Canadian ambassador to Beijing for making politically charged comments in January, told the South China Morning Post in an interview this week that China should halt its “punishments” on Canadian exports, and that “anything that is more negative against Canada will help the Conservatives, (who) are much less friendly to China than the Liberals.” He added, “it would be nice if things will get better” before the election.

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To Scheer, this was an open appeal to the Chinese government to help Liberals get re-elected in the contest scheduled for October. “This invitation of foreign interference in the Canadian election — to a regime that has proven itself hostile to Canadian interests — is absolutely reprehensible,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

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In an interview Wednesday evening, Scheer told the National Post he is concerned that this is “the official Liberal line” and that McCallum’s mistake was revealing it. He said he worries Liberal officials are already telling their Chinese counterparts that “Justin Trudeau is better for China than he is for Canada, that it’s in China’s best interests to re-elect Trudeau.” Liberal officials didn’t immediately respond to that accusation.

Scheer added that that kind of talk coming from someone so recently tasked with stick-handling one of Canada’s trickiest foreign relationships is a poor reflection on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ability to appoint competent diplomats. McCallum hasn’t been replaced with a new ambassador, yet. Scheer said he would put in a new person “right away.”

Trudeau fired McCallum in late January, amid the early days of an ongoing spat with China triggered by the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Meng was detained as she was boarding a flight in Vancouver in December on a U.S. warrant. She is facing extradition to the United States on fraud charges. In January, days before the U.S. confirmed a list of charges against Meng and her company, McCallum suggested to the StarMetro Vancouver newspaper that it would be “great for Canada” if the U.S. dropped its extradition request. The comments contradicted the government’s position on the judiciary’s independence.

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Immediately following Meng’s arrest, China arrested Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on dubious grounds. The two, now charged with espionage, are still being held by Chinese authorities. Senior Liberals should advocate for their “safe return” rather than “scheming with the government of China,” Scheer said.

A host of Canada’s allies support the two men’s release. Trudeau, ahead of the recent G20 summit, appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Doing nothing has led to the situation escalating

The ill will has affected other parts of the relationship. China is blocking imports of Canadian canola and meat. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland’s counterpart won’t return her calls.

Scheer said he would deal with China from a “position of strength,” including reviewing which products Chinese products Canada could put retaliatory measures on “that would have the least amount of impact on the Canadian market but the maximum amount of impact on the Chinese economy.” His view is that by standing up for itself, Canada would command the authoritarian regime’s respect.

Scheer also said he would be more vocal about human rights issues including the mass internment of Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province — ”I don’t believe the Liberal government has been engaged enough on that” — and the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong.

“All the dialogue in the world won’t change anything until China realizes that Canada’s going to stand up for itself,” he said. “Doing nothing has led to the situation escalating.”