B.C. residents want tougher response to China, poll finds
British Columbians overwhelmingly believe that the Canadian government needs to take a firmer position in its relationship with China as well as diversify its trade partnerships, according to a new poll.
One expert called the lack of support for the existing relations between Canada and China “unprecedented,” and was amazed by how united people appear to be on the need for change.
“We have quite a credibility problem between what the government says they're doing on behalf of Canada and what Canadians feel the government should be doing to protect our interests in our relationship with China,” said Charles Burton, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. “I'm really staggered by the figures and I'm staggered by the lack of faith that Canadians have in the way our government has been managing the China relationship.”
In the survey, which Leger conducted for Postmedia, respondents were queried on three areas of the Canada-China relationship in light of the Dec. 10, 2018 arrests of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in what is widely seen as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Chinese high-tech executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.
The Chinese government has charged Kovrig and Spavor with espionage, but the Canadian government says their detention is arbitrary and has called for their release.
According to Canada's ambassador to China, Kovrig and Spavor are physically and mentally well. Dominic Barton, who testified Tuesday before the House of Commons special committee on Canada-China relations from Beijing via video link, was granted on-site virtual consular access to the pair in November.
Spavor is being held in a prison in Dandong near the North Korean border, while Kovrig is in a Beijing-area facility.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Wednesday that the government considers them a priority and will work “tirelessly” to free the men.
“Dec. 10 marks two years since Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arbitrarily detained in China,” Champagne said in a statement. “These years have been stolen from Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor, their families and loved ones.”
The survey was conducted online from Dec. 2 to 4 and involved 1,001 B.C. residents over the age of 18.
Almost three-quarters of those surveyed believe Canada needs to take a more firm position with China on a range of issues, while only nine per cent thought the opposite.
When it comes to national and cybersecurity, 77 per cent of respondents said they are concerned with respect to Canada's relationship with China, and those over the age of 35 were more likely to have this concern.
Eighty per cent of respondents think it important for Canada to further diversify its trade partnerships, given the impact that Meng's detention has had on trade. People over age 55 were more likely to have this view.
“I actually was struck with the eight in 10 for both concerns about national security, cybersecurity, and eight in 10 really feeling that it's time to further diversify our trade relationship and to think differently about that,” said Leger vice-president Heather Owen. “I think that's a strong public sentiment on a topic.”
Burton, who has long criticized how Canada has engaged with China, is generally optimistic that the federal government will start to respond to widespread concern, but it won't happen quickly and it will take more domestic and international pressure.
“I think to some extent what one might describe as the Laurentian elites — the people back in Ottawa who are running China policy — have underestimated the intelligence of ordinary Canadians to figure out what's going on, and this poll certainly shows that,” Burton said.