Canada launches security review of Chinese takeover bid for construction firm Aecon, testing Trudeau’s Beijing ties

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau departs following his address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, on February 9, 2018 in Simi Valley, California. Trudeau said the takeover bid of a Chinese company is undergoing a national security review. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:35am, 13 Feb 2018Updated: 1:58am, 26 Dec 2021

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has launched a full national security review of a takeover bid by a Chinese firm for Canadian construction company Aecon Group Inc, in what may be a test for the PM’s commitment to China.

“This is the next step in this specific case. We are following the advice provided to us by the national security agencies,” Karl Sasseville, a spokesman for Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, said in a written statement on Monday.

The department will continue to “review the potential national security ‎implications, as we have been doing since day one. We never have and we never will compromise on national security.”

John M Beck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aecon Group, gestures as he speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23, 2018. Photo: Reuters

The measure, announced by Aecon on Monday, extends the timeline of its proposed sale to a unit of China Communications Construction Co, although it says it expects the deal to close by the end of the second quarter.

The deal, announced on October 26, was already under a “net benefit” review, which includes some analysis on national security grounds. Monday’s announcement was for an additional national security review that lasts up to 90 days, or longer with an investor’s consent.