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Current Affairs

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

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…

By Samantha Johnson / April 21, 2026

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.

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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.

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

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