China executed four Canadian nationals over drug charges earlier this year, prompting strong rebukes from the Western country amidst an already rocky relationship.
It is unclear exactly when this year the executions took place, but Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to stop them — and are seeking leniency “for other Canadians that are facing a similar situation,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
The victims were described as “Canadian nationals” who held dual citizenship with China, though China does not recognize dual citizenship.
China treats drug charges with a notoriously heavy hand, issuing lifetime prison sentences for smuggling and sometimes even meting out executions — though they are rarely carried out against Westerners.
“Canada strongly condemns China’s use of the death penalty, which is irreversible and inconsistent with basic human dignity,” a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said.
China, however, said the Canucks should mind their own business.
“Canada should respect the rule of law and stop interfering in China’s judicial sovereignty,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, claiming it treated all defendants equally regardless of their nationality.
The last time China sentenced a Canadian to death was in 2019, when it convicted Robert Lloyd Schellenberg of smuggling over 200kg of methamphetamine as part of a larger drug trafficking scheme.
Canadian officials spoke out against that case, too, while Schellenberg has maintained his innocence from death row in China.
That was just one incident that’s strained Chinese-Canadian relations in recent years.
In 2018, their ties took a downturn when Canada complied with a US extradition request and arrested Chinese businessman Meng Wanzhou, according to the BBC. China detained two Canadians soon after.
Then in 2023, Canadian news outlets revealed alleged evidence of Chinese interference in its elections.
China is known for its wide use of the death penalty — executing more prisoners than any other nation on Earth, according to Amnesty International.
In 2023 alone, thousands were executed in the country, the organization reported.
