Â鶹´«Ã½

Politics

    • China not an adversary to Canada, despite 'complicated' relationship: ambassador

    Share

    Canada’s ambassador to China insists the two countries are not adversaries, despite mounting examples of tense relations and allegations of foreign interference stacking up in recent months.

    Jennifer May told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday, Canada and China have a “complex,†“multifaceted,†and “very important†relationship, but that it’s important to focus on the goals they have in common, such as climate change and the environment, trade and investment.

    There have been a series of incidents in recent months that have put the two countries at odds, however: a tense conversation between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit last fall, multiple allegations of China interfering in Canadian elections, an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over Canada and the United States, and Canada’s expulsion of a Chinese diplomat following allegations he targeted Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family.

    But when asked whether she would describe the relationship between Canada and China as adversarial, May said she “would not.â€

    “I would describe China as a complex and complicated partner to work with,†she said. “And in some areas, they are a partner, but in others, they are more of a competitor.â€

    “But I don't think we can take a big complicated country or relationship like China, and put it down into one or two words,†she added.

    May also said it’s important to keep the dialogue open.

    “It means absolutely pushing back very firmly, strongly and clearly, as we've done on foreign interference, but also where there is an extended hand on issues that are absolutely existential for the entire globe, like climate change and the environment, that we don't throw that baby out with the bathwater,†she said.

    The ambassador also said she’s raised the issue of foreign interference with senior levels of China’s foreign ministry to make it clear it is “not acceptable behaviour.â€

    May said China expelling Shanghai-based Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde — a reciprocal move following Canada’s expulsion of Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei — was “unfortunate,†but “could have been worse.â€

    “That was very difficult,†she said. “My colleague had to leave on very short notice with her family. So yeah, that has had an impact on us very directly on the ground as well.â€

    “I wish that they had not taken the step of closing down essentially one of our channels of dialogue through our diplomat, but it is their right to do so,†she also said.

    Relations between China and Canada’s closest ally, the United States, have also been strained. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told Kapelos earlier this month China’s recent actions in the Taiwan Straight are increasingly “aggressive.â€

    “I think we are seeing them taking aggressive actions for sure,†May said. “We see them as disrupting, trying to play with the rules around the margins, around the game.â€

    “But I think that's where we also are stepping up with confidence and making sure that that we're not backing down in the face of that kind of change to the normal status quo,†she added.

    But when asked whether Canada should respond in kind, May said the focus should instead be on acting “determined and forceful, rather than necessarily aggressive.â€

    American officials meanwhile very recently have said they want to reset the relationship through diplomacy.

    In that vein, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Beijing on Sunday, after a trip in February was postponed due to the Chinese balloon incident.

    May said the lines of dialogue are open between Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and her counterpart in China, but wouldn’t say whether plans for a high level Canadian visit to China is in the works.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.

    Police north of Toronto have released video of what they’re describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victim’s car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.

    Canada

    • Police north of Toronto have released video of what they’re describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victim’s car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.

    • One of the B.C. Conservative candidates running in the province's second-largest city has apologized for "completely unacceptable" comments he made about Muslims and Palestinians.

    • A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.

    • The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • A newly released trailer for a Calgary-filmed movie features plenty of shots of local landmarks.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has abandoned his bid to appeal his 2022 sexual assault conviction before Canada's top court.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    • video

      video

      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    • Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and the provincial government to launch a new “incubator programâ€. One of the first three locations is Windsor, with the other two going to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.

    Local Spotlight

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

    Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

    Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

    • The driver involved in the hit-and-run that killed 19-year-old Damien Seguin in Burnaby, B.C., three years ago has been given a conditional sentence.

    • Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.

    • The Supreme Court judge said there were “a number of problems†with a petition brought forward by a man trying to stamp out the entire Roman Catholic Church.

    • Police north of Toronto have released video of what they’re describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victim’s car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.

    • Three Toronto police officers have been injured in separate incidents involving alleged stolen vehicles in Etobicoke.

    • Mayor Olivia Chow is defending her handling of protests over the Israel-Hamas war that have rocked the city over the past year, a day after she faced criticism for missing a vigil to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack which sparked the war.

    • More than a month after the Alberta government announced it would be pulling funding for Calgary's Green Line project, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says progress has been made.

    • United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) delegates are meeting in Calgary this week to discuss stalled labour negotiations with the province.

    • Calgary police are asking for the public’s assistance to identify two suspects believed to be involved with a shooting that took place in downtown Calgary last week.

    • Ottawa's Transit Commission says moving forward, its Zero Emission Buses (ZEB) program will procure 40-foot e-buses due to limited availability from manufacturers of 60-foot articulated buses.

    • Former Ottawa resident Angelina Armstrong-Mann says it was clear when Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida Wednesday night—she heard it.

    • The transit service conducted a fare compliance blitz between September 3 and 30, with 12 fare inspectors "active across the transit network, enforcing fare regulations," OC Transpo said.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      A man is in life-threatening condition after being shot in a Laval parking lot Thursday afternoon.

    • A 32-year-old woman from Ile-Bizard is facing jail time after she was found guilty Thursday of driving while impaired by prescription drugs.

    • Luc Langevin woke up on Thursday morning not knowing what to expect. He fell asleep at 1:30 a.m. at the tail end of Hurricane Milton's peak.

    • An Edmonton daycare has been shut down after failing to address concerns about unsupervised children, the province said Thursday.

    • The government of Canada will forgo up to $15.2 million in rental fees charged to the municipality of Jasper, Alta., as well as its residents and business owners over the next few years.

    • A controversial casino has been approved for south Edmonton.

    • Hurricane Milton's devastation in Florida impacts Maritimers near and far

    • The aurora may be visible in some parts of the Maritimes Thursday night.

    • Doctor Scott Bowen at the Cumberland Regional Hospital in Amherst, N.S is said he is alarmed by the state of Nova Scotia’s emergency rooms.

    • A woman is speaking out after an assault on a Winnipeg Transit bus sent her and her daughter to the hospital.

    • The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    • RCMP say officers have found an abandoned vehicle and seized a firearm connected to an armed robbery in the Whitewood, Sask. area Wednesday night, but are still on the hunt for two suspects.

    • Amid what could be Saskatchewan's tightest election in 17 years, the leader of the NDP is asking voters to set party politics aside and support what's the best course for the province.

    • Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe says he would get tough on those disrupting the public and will shut down nuisance properties if re-elected premier on Oct. 28.

    • Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a Waterloo man who they believe is linked to a group that has been scamming victims across Canada.

    • The City of Guelph is calling its new bylaw, banning encampments in the downtown core, a compassionate and cautious approach to the growing problem in the community.

    • The skills of international students are being put to good use in the Canadian job market, according to a new first-of-its-kind study by University of Waterloo (UW) researchers.

    • Emails obtained by Â鶹´«Ã½ show a Saskatoon private school embroiled in abuse allegations considered mayoral hopeful Gord Wyant a "friend," but he says he cut off contact when the allegations came to light.

    • The Saskatchewan RCMP is responding to a report of an armed carjacking in Red Pheasant First Nation.

    • Amid what could be Saskatchewan's tightest election in 17 years, the leader of the NDP is asking voters to set party politics aside and support what's the best course for the province.

    • An Ontario man said he feels 'devastated' after learning his identity was stolen to take out two fraudulent loans under his name.

    • A 14-year-old student received non-life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon in a collision with a vehicle in Chelmsford in Greater Sudbury.

    • At around 9:15 a.m. emergency services responded to reports of a possible stabbing in the area of Oxford Street West and Fiddlers Green Road.

    • A blaze which at its peak reached 20 feet in the air had St. Thomas firefighters busy on Thursday.

    • OPP and Middlesex fire have closed Ilderton Road West of Wonderland Road and east of Hyde Park Road.

    • Provincial police say seven people are facing charges after a massive grow operation bust outside Orillia, Ont., where over $2 million in cannabis plants were seized.

    • Police in Barrie are investigating a theft at a convenience store that they say turned violent on Wednesday afternoon.

    • Police are investigating a report of a foiled robbery at a Barrie business allegedly involving several suspects.

    • Brett Iler has pleaded not guilty to six charges of careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act in a collision that killed two people and injured three others.

    • The removal of 13 vehicles and one trailer from the Detroit River in Sandwich Town is complete.

    • The Windsor police have made an arrest in connection to a break-in at a local Islamic high school. Two suspects remain at large.

    • Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.

    • The federal government is spending $4.9 million to remove a load of heavy oil from a United States military ship that sank off the coast of British Columbia nearly 80 years ago but now poses "significant risk" of a major spill due to deterioration.

    • One of the B.C. Conservative candidates running in the province's second-largest city has apologized for "completely unacceptable" comments he made about Muslims and Palestinians.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • A weapons complaint that led to the temporary lockdown of two Lethbridge schools Thursday turned out to be no threat, police said in a media release.

    • Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.

    • Alberta's police watchdog says the Medicine Hat police officers who were involved in an in-custody death in August 2023 acted reasonably and with appropriate force in dealing with a suspect armed with a machete.

    • Sault Ste. Marie Police Service said two people were arrested following a heavy police presence on Chapple Avenue on Thursday.

    • An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.

    • Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½