Carney says China is ‘supporting’ Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, echoing Zelenskyy

OTTAWA — China poses the biggest geopolitical threat to Canada, Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Friday, citing issues including foreign interference, Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and its interest in the Arctic.

Carney made the statement initially during the English language leaders’ debate Thursday night and was then asked about it during a campaign stop in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Carney said he is “very clear-eyed” about China, the world’s second biggest economy and Canada’s second largest trading partner.

“(China) is a partner, more than that, with Russia and is supporting them in its … illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Carney said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made similar claims, saying Thursday he has received information that China is supplying weapons to Russia.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre weighed in via a statement released after a Friday morning campaign stop near Montreal. Poilievre said he would immediately transfer $22 billion in seized Russian assets to Ukraine.

As of Jan. 15, the RCMP reported over $140 million in Russian assets have been frozen as a result of Canadian sanctions, and transactions worth more than $317 million have been blocked since Feb. 2022.

Last year G7 leaders agreed to provide US$50 billion in loans to Ukraine, backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.

In February, when former prime minister Justin Trudeau was in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of the invasion, he said Canada had concluded negotiations with Ukraine to provide $5 billion through the loan program, noting half was to be dispersed shortly after that trip.

While discussing China, Carney said he had to measure his words due to national security sensitivities, while appearing to take a subtle jab at Poilievre who does not currently have top secret security clearance.

“I’ll choose my words carefully given that I’m briefed on these matters and have my security and do that. It is one of the largest threats to, with respect to foreign interference. Which we have to counter and we are countering,” Carney said.

All party leaders were offered a chance to apply for top secret security clearance to be briefed on issues like foreign interference.

During the English language debate on Thursday, Poilievre said he had security clearance when he was a member of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet, and has not applied for it since because it would “gag” him from criticizing the government’s handling of certain issues.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May, who both have security clearance, have disputed Poilievre’s claim.

The Conservatives have said China is trying to help get Carney elected, and the Liberals have also faced questions about certain candidates and their ties to China. During the first week of the campaign, the party dropped incumbent Paul Chiang, whose comments saying a Conservative candidate could be turned over to Chinese officials in exchange for a bounty drew ire from across the political spectrum.

Earlier in the election campaign, federal security officials said they found an online information operation linked to the Chinese government that focused on Carney.

The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force said it traced the operation to Youli-Youmain, the most popular news account on social media platform WeChat. Intelligence reports link Youli-Youmain to the Chinese Communist Party’s central political and legal affairs commission.

Security analysts saw both positive and negative narratives about Carney in the operation, “amplifying” his stance on the United States.

The task force concluded the information operation aimed at Carney was intended to influence Chinese communities in Canada and sought to shape perceptions of the Liberal leader.

The Youli-Youmian account has been linked to information operations targeting Conservative politician Michael Chong two years ago, and more recently former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

The federal foreign interference inquiry, which issued its findings earlier this year, reported that multiple countries have attempted to interfere in the last two Canadian elections, including China, India and Russia. But it also concluded that any impact of that interference did not change the outcome of the election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2025.

— With files from Jim Bronskill and The Associated Press

David Baxter, The Canadian Press