Four Canadians accused of drug-related crimes have been executed in China, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, announced. This may escalate the strained relationship between Canada and China further.

Joly condemned the executions and said that the government would continue seeking leniency for similar cases.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa defends China’s strict penalties for drugs, without providing details of the executions.

The Globe and Mail newspaper was first to break this news, citing Canada’s Department of Global Affairs.

The executed individuals were Canadian-Chinese dual nationals. However, China does not recognize dual nationality. Joly and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had asked for leniency for these individuals, to no avail. The Ottawa government) called the killings “inconsistent with basic human dignity.”

John Kamm, founder of the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group, was involved in trying to help these individuals. It is uncommon for China to execute four foreign nationals in a short timeframe, he said. The Chinese province of Guangdong handled their cases, which had been under judicial review for two years.

Canada-China relations have worsened since 2018, when China arrested two Canadian citizens in retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a Huawei executive.

There are concerns about Chinese interference in Canadian affairs, and allegations that Chinese money was involved in the 2019 Canadian election. Last year, Canada imposed 100 percent tariffs on electric vehicles.

According to China, the executions were legal, saying the evidence of the Canadians’ crimes was clear and solid. Another Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, faces the death penalty after being convicted of drug trafficking.

Foreigners in China, like everyone else, face the risk of arbitrary detention and unfair trials, says Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch.

Lynette Ong, a professor in Chinese politics at the University of Toronto, stated that although the release of the two Michaels had hoped for a better relationship, that does not seem to have happened.

Joy Dong and Vjosa Isai co-authored this article.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/world/asia/china-canada-drug-executions.html