China has executed four Canadian citizens on drug charges earlier this year despite Canada’s requests for clemency, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed Wednesday.
“There are four Canadians that have been executed and therefore we are strongly condemning what happened,” Joly said. She did not provide details, citing privacy requests from the families but confirmed that all four were dual citizens.
Joly added that Ottawa would seek leniency for other Canadians in similar situations.
Separately, the Canadian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian sentenced to death in 2019 for drug smuggling, has not been executed.
Tensions between Canada and China have persisted since 2018, after Canadian authorities detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the Trump administration. In apparent retaliation, China arrested two Canadian citizens shortly after.
A statement from the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa accused Canada of making “irresponsible remarks” and defended the executions, calling drug crimes a severe threat to society.
“China always imposed severe penalties on drug-related crimes and maintains a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude towards the drug problem,” the embassy said.
China’s Foreign Ministry said its legal system treats all accused equally, regardless of nationality. “Canada should respect the rule of law and stop interfering in China’s judicial sovereignty,” spokesperson Mao Ning said.
