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Carney says he will tell Xi that outsiders should not meddle in Canada’s affairs

By Thomson Reuters Nov 10, 2026 | 11:33 AM

OTTAWA, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday he would stress to Chinese President Xi Jinping ​later this month that China ‌and other countries should not interfere in Canada’s internal affairs.

Carney said he would meet Xi on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Shenzhen ‌on ​November 18-19.

In April 2025, ⁠Carney said China was ⁠one of the largest threats with respect to foreign interference. In 2024, a probe into meddling from abroad heard ​that Canada’s spy agency concluded China had interfered in the 2019 and 2021 ⁠elections.

“The advantage of these ⁠meetings is you can raise ​issues directly and frankly. And I will be ​raising the importance with which we ‌attach to the non-interference in our affairs by China and other countries,” Carney told reporters.

Beijing has long denied it seeks to ⁠interfere in Canadian domestic affairs.

As part of a bid to reduce economic dependence on the United ⁠States, ‌Canada is seeking tighter ties ⁠with China after a long spell ​of ‌chilly bilateral relations.

In February, after ​a visit ⁠by Carney, China said it would suspend some tariffs on Canadian agricultural products imposed during a trade dispute.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Maria Cheng and ​Matthew Lewis)