Canadian who was detained by China warns against Carney’s electric vehicle deal

Ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig was imprisoned for three years after Canada arrested Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition request

A Canadian who was detained in China for nearly three years warned that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s electric vehicle deal risks creating a strategic dependency that the Asian superpower can exploit for political coercion.

Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat who was imprisoned from 2018 to 2021, said on Tuesday that the agreement would lead to unfair competition and the erosion of Canada’s industrial base.

Carney announced during a January trip to Beijing that Canada would accept an initial quota of 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a low tariff rate, in exchange for China lowering duties on Canadian food items such as canola, seafood and peas.

The prime minister has also outlined plans to court Chinese investment in Canada’s vehicle sector through joint ventures.

It is a controversial policy for a number of reasons. US officials all the way up to President Donald Trump have expressed concern about Canada’s embrace of Chinese EVs.

Car parts manufacturers and the unions representing factory workers are worried Chinese companies will eventually hollow out Canada’s vehicle industrial base.