Canadian public opinion is souring on promoting new economic ties with China, the country’s second-largest trading partner, according to a new Angus Reid Institute poll.

The survey polling 1,499 Canadians released on Wednesday suggests recent developments, such as the yearlong imprisonment of two Canadians by Beijing, have pushed Canadians to take an increasingly skeptical view on China.

Seven-in-10 Canadians say human rights and the rule of law should take greater precedence in Canada’s relationship with China, compared to boosting trade opportunities. When Angus Reid last polled Canadians on the issue in February 2019, 62 per cent of respondents said the same.

Only 22 per cent of respondents to the poll said Canada should develop closer trade ties with China in the future, down from 40 per cent who held this view in 2015.

The survey also shows two thirds of Canadians now hold an unfavourable view of China, up from 51 per cent in 2018.

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Historically, Ottawa has forged close ties with Beijing on boosting trade with the Asian superpower hungry for natural resources to power its rapidly advancing economy.

Canada was well-known, particularly during the Chrétien era, for sending large delegations of cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and government officials on “Team Canada” trade junkets to China.

The Liberal government had made it a priority to kick-start free trade talks with Beijing when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited China on a state visit in 2017. Those efforts ultimately did not succeed.

The prospect of new trade agreements have become increasingly cloudy with bilateral relations at a low for a year over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, which Canada calls “arbitrary.”

Calls have increased in the last year for Canada to take a harder line on China in light of recent developments in the bilateral relationship and elsewhere abroad.

As Beijing has come under fire for the detention of two Canadians and treatment of religious and ethnic minorities and handling of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, 90 per cent of poll respondents also said China can’t be trusted on human rights and the rule of law.

Meanwhile, views on whether trade with China benefiting their communities and the economy overall were mixed. Respondents were more likely to say trade have a negative impact on jobs and the economy in their community but also more likely to believe it benefitted Canada’s economy as a whole.

Those in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the two provinces hardest hit by China’s restrictions on beef and canola export, had the highest levels of negative sentiment.

Nevertheless, 54 per cent of respondents to the poll said the current diplomatic spat will sort itself out and relations will be “back to normal.” Forty-six per cent believe relations are in long-term trouble.

Beijing has urged for a quick return to normal relations if Meng is released from custody. She faces possible extradition to the United States to face criminal charges related to Huawei’s alleged attempt to bypass American sanctions on Iran.

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Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has called for a new “framework” on Canada’s approach to China — one that can strike a balance between economic interests and a principled approach toward human rights.

Wednesday’s poll also shows that Conservative supporters out of all federal parties were most likely to see trade and investment opportunities as the top priority in the bilateral relationship.

This is despite the Tories being the most vocal among federal parties in criticizing Beijing.

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