Two-thirds of Canadians reject closer ties to China and want Huawei banned from 5G networks, poll says
- People’s perceptions of China have ‘deteriorated markedly’, pollster says
- Almost three-quarters of Canadians support government’s handling of Meng Wanzhou case
Canadians’ attitudes towards China and Huawei have worsened substantially in recent months, with more than two-thirds now rejecting closer ties with Beijing, and a similar proportion wanting Huawei banned from Canadian 5G networks, according to a survey.
The poll, conducted from July 6 to 9 by Research Co, also found increasing support for Canada’s handling of the case of Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei executive whose arrest in December at Vancouver’s airport sent Sino-Canadian relations plummeting.
Meng was detained at the request of US authorities, who are seeking her extradition on fraud and obstruction charges.
The poll was conducted among 1,000 adults in Canada, statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region. It was not weighted for ethnicity.
Mario Canseco, president of Research Co, said Canadian perceptions of China had “deteriorated markedly over the past five months” and that the speed of deterioration “was really surprising”.
