Our Neighbor to the North Enters Into a Perilous Partnership with China

Peloni:  China scores a victory against the West if Carney does not walk this flagrant outrage back.

Janet Levy | Am Thinker | January 30, 2026

PM Carney meets with President Xi. Screengrab via Youtube  [Cropped]

On January 16th, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to establish a “new strategic partnership” that enhances cooperation in trade, energy, the economy, and security. Such an agreement between our biggest neighbor and our biggest rival naturally heightened tensions between Carney and President Donald Trump. Carney contributed to the friction by stating at the World Economic Forum (WEF) that the old world order is over, emphasizing that he aims to reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S.

President Trump’s response acted as both a warning and a cautionary note. In a direct statement on Truth Social, he said: “If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a Drop Off Port for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including destroying their businesses, social fabric, and way of life.” He also threatened a 100% tariff on all Canadian imports into America.

Although Carney initially countered by saying, “Canada thrives because we are Canadian,” and not because of the U.S., he later softened his stance, stating that Canada had “no intention” of pursuing a free-trade agreement with China. He explained that Canada had only “rectified some issues” that had arisen over the past few years. He also emphasized that Canada remains committed to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which establishes preferential tariffs for trade among the three countries.

But Trump’s concerns are valid, considering we share the world’s longest border (about 5,525 miles) with Canada, a country that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been steadily infiltrating since the mid-1980s. His “drop-off port” comment was also quite on point. According to national security expert and author Jeff Nyquist, half of Canada’s recent immigrants are Chinese, and China is already purchasing land along the demilitarized Canada-U.S. border, which could be used for espionage and smuggling.

Communist China’s efforts to become the world’s leading power involve a sneaky, multi-layered strategy: at the grassroots level, slow infiltration through its diaspora, students, scientists, and media figures; at the middle level, through business ventures, infrastructure projects, and the infiltration of communications networks; and at the highest level, through “elite capture,” targeting influential politicians and business leaders to serve its interests. In Canada, this seems to have happened at all levels.

According to a February 1986 intelligence report, recently obtained by the Canadian media in a heavily redacted form under access to information laws, China was influencing and exploiting the Chinese diaspora in Canada for political and intelligence reasons even in the early 1980s. These efforts intensified after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

Another top-secret briefing note reveals that in 2023, the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office was informed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that China interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, supporting pro-China or neutral candidates. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Erin O’Toole, a former Conservative Party leader, told Parliament that he had learned that the CCP paid agents in Canada to campaign against him in his bid to replace Justin Trudeau. The WSJ report has been cited by Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission.

A 1997 study conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and CSIS, known as the Sidewinder report, focused on three key areas: Chinese criminal organizations or triads in Canada, the tactics and methods used by Chinese government intelligence agencies for infiltration, and the PRC’s ties with these criminal groups, which utilize companies and casinos to launder their earnings.

According to Sidewinder, China recruits companies to spread disinformation and pro-China narratives through social media and to conduct cyberwarfare. It also coerces diaspora communities into gathering government or proprietary information. Chinese laws require its citizens abroad to cooperate with its intelligence agencies. Additionally, there is always the fear of relatives in China being arrested, which makes compliance easier.

Sidewinder also revealed China’s involvement in real estate, major shipping, and investment companies, as well as its influence over Canadian ports and shipping routes. One maritime and cybersecurity concern, flagged in March 2024 by the U.S. House of Representatives, is that cranes made by Shanghai’s Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company have hidden modems that “do not contribute to [their] operation.” These cranes are widely used at ports in Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, Prince Rupert, and other ports across the U.S. The company denies that the modems pose a security risk.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former CSIS officer who was among the Sidewinder authors, asserts that his report was diluted and the evidence he collected was destroyed because it was considered too politically sensitive. Essentially, the original report was suppressed. Since CSIS is also supposed to share such reports with allies like the U.S., his claim has wider implications.

In Canada, key intelligence reports, such as those mentioned, can remain unavailable indefinitely. It is the only country in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance—comprising the U.S., Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada—without a formal process for fully declassifying intelligence reports. This leaves Canada vulnerable, and politicians like Carney can go unchallenged on deals with a country that is clearly not a benign partner.

Part of Carney’s China deal is a formal agreement with the China Media Group, a propaganda arm of the CCP, to provide “support and convenience” for media to operate in each other’s countries. In an opinion piece, The Bureau, a conservative news platform, describes this as “catastrophic” for Canada’s open society. It cites instances of election interference, intimidation of candidates in Chinese communities, and pressure on journalists who are critical of China, Chinese companies, or policies that favor Chinese interests in Canada. Carney, it says, has thrown open the gates to “media operatives” whom Canadian intelligence has “explicitly documented as threats to Canadian democracy and Canadian lives.”

Despite these risky sacrifices to security, democracy, and freedom made by Carney, Canada is unlikely to gain significant trade benefits. As U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick remarked at the WEF meeting in Davos, “They (Canada) are playing with a set of rules that they haven’t really thought through.” He criticized Carney’s actions as unrealistic, stating that China would never open its economy to Canadian exports.

Unless freedom-loving Canadians persuade Carney to change his mind on this dangerous deal, what is likely to happen is this: Canada will not only have its security compromised but also jeopardize the northern border and the security of its staunchest, long-standing ally.

The U.S.-Canada border has long been a permeable line for Canada-based smuggling operations, which have frequently smuggled cigarettes and, in smaller quantities, fentanyl into the U.S. In fact, shortly after his inauguration, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian goods because Canada did not do enough to curb smuggling. If Chinese criminal groups, which are often connected to the CCP, establish a presence along the border, they could cause chaos in both countries.

This broader security view reveals the huge risk in Carney’s generous offer of Most Favored Nation status to China. Clearly, China has taken advantage of the recent problems in U.S.-Canada relations to pressure Carney into a deal that provides trade benefits but threatens Canada and its allies.

After Trump’s 100% tariff threat, Carney stated his commitment to CUSMA, whose future depends on a review in July 2026 by all three nations. This could result in a 16-year extension, annual reviews, or even withdrawals. Two other factors could influence it: Trump is expected to submit a report to Congress urging stricter regional content and labor standards, and the U.S. Supreme Court will decide on Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on other countries.

Regardless of CUSMA’s fate, Carney’s risky engagement with China has greatly endangered his country’s national security and hindered cooperation with NORAD, NATO, Five Eyes, and other allies.