A growing majority of Canadians now view economic engagement with China as more important than focusing on the country’s human rights record, a new Angus Reid Institute poll shows.
Three-in-five respondents (59%) said trade and investment opportunities should be Canada’s main priority, marking a sharp shift from recent years when human rights concerns dominated public opinion.
(Incognito)
The dirty little secret is, all movements want to be perceived as homegrown, wholly organic examples of grassroots activism — that the good, patriotic citizens of our community looked around, had enough, and finally decided to do something about it. PR-wise, that’s the best possible positioning for capturing hearts and minds.
Canada is set to open its automotive market to Chinese electric vehicles, as researchers and policymakers warn that a flood of Chinese products in markets such as Europe has come at the expense of domestic producers.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a deal with China to allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into Canada annually at a 6.1 percent tariff, replacing the 100 percent tariff imposed in 2024 amid concerns over Beijing’s non-market practices.
Donald Trump said it was “very dangerous” for the UK to do business with China, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Shanghai on the third day of his visit to the country.
…Beyond his brief comments, Trump did not say anything further about the UK’s engagement with China, pivoting instead to Canada and delivering a similar warning.
He said it was “even more dangerous, I think, for Canada”.
“Canada is not doing well. They’re doing very poorly, and you can’t look at China as the answer,” he added.
Odd language for a non-trade deal
BREAKING: Mark Carney confirmed Canada entered a NEW Trade Agreement with China.
This is after Mark Carney told the U.S. we did not — we only removed some tariffs.
Hopefully the U.S. don’t watch Canadian NEWS pic.twitter.com/dwEbvNqIxM
— Marc Nixon (@MarcNixon24) January 29, 2026
Canadian conservative and political theorist William Barclay joins The Spectacle Podcast hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay to discuss the future of Venezuela, the relationship between Canada and the U.S., and the rising problems posed by progressive ideology and identity politics.
Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England and now Canadian prime minister, was the toast of Davos last week for a speech that seemed to perfectly capture the moment with its talk of a “permanent rupture” and its supposed master plan for responding to the “Trumpquake” in global affairs.
But how realistic was his vision of a coalition of “middle powers” – by which he seemed to mean mainly Canada, Europe, the UK and Japan – to keep the torch of the old liberal order burning bright?
"PM Carney’s Davos speech may go down in history as one of the most poorly interpreted by Canadians. Many central bankers openly disagreed with both the language and the message, but the backlash barely surfaced in Canadian media. Meanwhile, the speech has clearly made many… pic.twitter.com/krCyHwtxx3
— The Food Professor (@FoodProfessor) January 27, 2026
Golden Dome is back in the news, albeit in an unusual way.
It’s not because Russia or China are building new intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, but because U.S. President Donald Trump worked himself into a corner promising he’d acquire Greenland one way or another, and the inevitable result was economic turmoil, the possible end of NATO, and Prime Minister Mark Carney telling the world the Pax Americana is effectively over.
Sir Keir Starmer recently tried to take credit for his role in Donald Trump’s partial climbdown on tariffs relating to Greenland. Whether he played any meaningful part is debatable.
What is beyond doubt, however, is that Donald Trump will happily reach for the tariff weapon again whenever it suits him. Even against long-standing allies, and especially against those he believes are acting against US interests.
Just look at Canada and the increasingly heated rivalry between Trump and the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney. The president last week threatened eye-watering tariffs of 100pc on all goods and services entering the US.
As we sang “Auld Lang Syne” in the early morning of Jan. 1, 2025, the first American newborn of the year arrived to much fanfare and celebration.
But this time, the baby was the progeny of Chinese citizens, and the mother had intentionally traveled to give birth on American soil, so that the child would automatically be granted US citizenship, a practice known as birth tourism. When such children turn 21, they can also apply for resident status for both of their parents.
I’m still processing how the world changed last week. President Trump’s wild threats against Greenland — and by extension against America’s NATO allies — crystallized for many leaders what they already believed but perhaps were too scared to say out loud: The rules-based international order is no more.
The man who said it out loud, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, became something of a hero in Davos. Today, I’m writing about what Canada’s efforts to pivot away from an increasingly volatile America can teach other countries.
“Russia is without question a threat in the Arctic,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said this month at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Without question, Russia does lots of horrible things.”
Russia, despite all the horrible things it does, is not able to challenge Canada without its partner. Carney was quick to name China as the biggest security threat to his country during a federal election debate last April. At Davos, however, he was not willing to talk about China posing a danger to his country.
Moreover, his foreign affairs minister was similarly reluctant. Anita Anand in Davos did not name names when reporters asked her to cite the top threat facing Canada.
Chinese electric vehicles still pose a national security threat despite Canada lifting its tariff blockade, security experts warn, adding that nothing has changed since the previous federal government voiced concerns nearly two years ago.
Yet those experts also warn that the cybersecurity and privacy threats extend beyond Chinese-made vehicles to any car connected to the internet, which requires a robust response from Ottawa.
State-sponsored Chinese hackers have been quietly breaking into the phones of senior British government officials for years—including close aides to recent prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak.
The Daily Telegraph reports that spies have “compromised senior members of the government, exposing their private communications to Beijing.”
Our new partner!
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s January agreement to facilitate Chinese journalist access to Canada represents one of the most reckless national security decisions in recent Canadian history. The deal commits Canada to “provide mutual support and convenience for media to work in each other’s countries” through a formal agreement with China Media Group, the Communist Party’s state propaganda apparatus.
Canada is an open society. That is our strength—and, increasingly, our vulnerability.
There is a reason why the United States and Canada consider China a “non-market economy.”
Beijing, rather than market forces, determines production and prices.
Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2000, it has been able to access Western markets, without offering reciprocal access.
