The Canadian Press Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair, left, has said it would be

As he gets closer to his electoral trial by fire, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh finds himself facing heavy flak from his byelection rivals, unfavourable media coverage, and even criticism from his own predecessor. On the day he officially opened his campaign office for the Burnaby South byelection, Singh appeared on CTV News' "Question Period," where he was invited to weigh in on the ongoing Canada-China spat. Host Evan Solomon asked Singh what he thought about a recent editorial from Lu Shaye, China's ambassador in Ottawa, in which he accused Canada of exhibiting "Western egotism and white supremacy" in the case of two Canadians detained in the Asian country. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arrested shortly after Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, a high-ranking executive at Chinese tech behemoth Huawei, at the request of the U.S.

China's ambassador to Canada made headlines when he put out an editorial in the last week accusing Canada of white supremacy when it comes to the handling of Meng Whanzhou's case. "Who accused who of white supremacy?" @theJagmeetSingh asked in response.#ctvpp#cdnpolipic.twitter.com/bJldrrtbky — CTV'S QUESTIONPERIOD (@ctvqp) January 13, 2019

"If you were the prime minister, what would you say to the Chinese right now?" Solomon asked. "Sorry, who accused who of white supremacy?" Singh responded. After Solomon got him up to speed, Singh said he didn't know if there was "any evidence" of the white supremacy accusation, and then went on to talk about "concerns" that the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump was using the detention of the two Canadians as political leverage in trade negotiations.

The Canadian Press NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh jogs up to a home while door knocking for his byelection campaign, in Burnaby, B.C. on Jan. 12, 2019.

Solomon interrupted him to pivot back to the issue. "China has detained two Canadians. I just wonder if you've got your eye on the ball here," he said. Singh then called Kovrig and Spavor's situation "deeply concerning" and said that Canada needs to make sure that there's "full due process" for anyone who is detained. He also called for their safe return and noted that he hopes their detention is not a "backlash" to Canada's arrest of Wanzhou. Watch: Trudeau says China "acting arbitrarily" in case of Canadian sentenced to death

HuffPost Canada has reached out to the NDP for comment on Singh's CTV appearance. Reactions to Singh's segment on social media weren't great, to put it lightly. Maclean's published a post on Monday headlined: "Someone get Jagmeet Singh a newspaper subscription." And if that wasn't enough, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair also chimed in with his second jab at Singh in a week. On a CTV panel, Mulcair said he was surprised by Singh's response to the question.

.@theJagmeetSingh was caught off guard on @ctvqp with a question about the Chinese ambassador accusing Canada of white supremacy. "I was a little bit surprised to find out that it was news for Mr. Singh," said @ThomasMulcair. Story here: https://t.co/iA4cCTurgq#ctvqp#cdnpolipic.twitter.com/4WdoMtQM60 — CTV'S QUESTIONPERIOD (@ctvqp) January 13, 2019

The Canadian Press NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is facing a tough battle in the upcoming byelection in the B.C. riding of Burnaby South.