In an escalation of tension between Canada and China, the Justin Trudeau government moved on May 8, 2023, to expel a Chinese diplomat from the country.
Canadian foreign affairs minister said that Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei has been declared 'persona non grata'. "We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs," she wrote.
Earlier, Canada's spy agency had said that Zhao Wei was involved in a conspiracy to intimidate Canadian lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
Chong has been critical of Beijing's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province.