VANCOUVER—Jagmeet Singh says he is “aware” the Chinese ambassador published an editorial accusing Canada of white supremacy.

His comments came hours after the federal NDP leader took a bashing on CTV Question Period on Sunday, when he asked “who accused who of white supremacy?” following questions on China’s ambassador to Canada’s publishing an editorial last week accusing Canada of white supremacy when it comes to handling Meng Wanzhou’s case.

The question was referring to the case of two Canadians detained in China, in what experts are calling a tit-for-tat retaliatory response to Canadian authorities detaining the chief financial officer of telecom giant Huawei on the request of the United States.

“I didn’t hear what he had said … and once given the question, I responded,” Singh said when asked if he knew about the op-ed. “Yes, I was aware. … I expressed that there is a deep concern on the part of Canada for people being detained.”

Singh, who is vying for his first seat in the House of Commons, held his official campaign kickoff at his offices on Royal Oak Ave. on Sunday, two hours before Liberal candidate Karen Wang’s launch at her offices on Kingsway St. blocks away.

Wang said her message to Beijing is that Canada’s independent law system should be respected.

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“I have confidence in both countries,” she said at her campaign office. “They will solve this issue in a peaceful way, in a positive way, in a win-win solution.”

Both stayed on message during their launches, and saw roughly 100 supporters attend. Singh reiterated the need for immediate affordable housing, universal pharmacare and environmental protections. Wang repeated her personal story of deep roots in Burnaby and prioritized a strong, stable economy and creation of more jobs.

The longtime Burnaby South resident has already criticized Singh for his lack of community ties. Meanwhile, Singh told his crowd of supporters that he plans to spend all of his time in the riding.

Despite common refrains from national political observers, the highly anticipated Burnaby South won’t be a referendum on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to purchase the pipeline, according to Kevin Milligan, a UBC economist and Burnaby South resident for nearly a decade.

He pointed out the Trans Mountain pipeline terminal is in the neighbouring riding of Burnaby North.

“It is something some people are concerned about, but it’s not like it’s on the tip of the tongue,” Milligan said. “That plays out in what you’ve seen in Singh’s public statements, he rarely leads with that. It seems to resonate with his political messaging.”

Notably, Burnaby is one of the most “immigrant-intensive” ridings in Canada, Milligan said. More than half the population is foreign born and he estimates more than a quarter of the riding is of Chinese descent.

The general public is discounting how close the riding has traditionally been, he added. Indeed, former NDP MP Kennedy Stewart squeaked by with roughly 550 votes in the 2015 federal election.

Earlier Sunday on CTV, Singh came out in support of the LNG project amid an ongoing dispute between Coastal GasLink and Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders. At his offices Sunday, Singh confirmed there was “positive consultation” before the project moved ahead.

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“Broadly speaking, the vast majority of Indigenous communities have expressed support for the project and I think it’s an important element of the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples for us to respect the sovereignty of Indigenous nations and their decision making.”

His sentiments echo B.C. Premier John Horgan, who said earlier this week LNG Canada has met the standards for working with Indigenous people along the pipeline route.

This has always been a challenge to the NDP: To signal they’re a progressive party while at the same time signalling a sense of responsibility and making decisions that won’t “wreck the country,” said Stewart Prest, political scientist at Simon Fraser University.

“They can’t stray too far from what is perceived to be the countrywide mainstream,” he said. “(Pipeline support) represents a break and certainly not necessarily just intended for the audience in Burnaby South.”

That’s because there is deep variance in what amounts to “common sense” positions on pipelines, depending where you are in Canada, Prest added.

Prest expects Canada-China relations will play a big part in the byelection, despite it being a federal issue, as the Chinese Canadian population is robust in Burnaby and they will likely be watching developments closely.

And while the election won’t be a referendum on the pipeline — it will be a referendum on Singh’s leadership in a highly competitive riding, Prest added.

Singh faces problems within his own caucus. For instance, former NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said Sunday he was “surprised” Singh was apparently unaware of the Chinese ambassador’s comments. He’s also told the media that Singh should step aside, should he lose the Burnaby byelection.

According to Prest, the stakes all seem to be on Singh’s side.

“It’s hard to see if he loses how he’ll have much chance at all in the federal election. And if that’s the case, not much of a chance to compete in the next one,” Prest said. “This is important for his leadership.”

The Burnaby South byelection is Feb. 25.

Correction — Jan. 14, 2018: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Meng Wanzhou.

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