Canada’s prime minister fires his ambassador to China

Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that he had asked for and accepted John McCallum’s resignation

John McCallum resigned after making controversial remarks over the US extradition request for a top Huawei executive. AFP

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired his ambassador to China after the envoy said it would be “great” if the US dropped its extradition request for a Chinese tech executive arrested in Canada.

Mr Trudeau said that he had asked for and accepted John McCallum's resignation on Friday night.

Mr McCallum made the remark to the Toronto Star on Friday. That came a day after he issued a statement saying he misspoke about the case earlier in the week and regretted saying Meng Wanzhou has a strong case against extradition.

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The arrest of the daughter of the founder of Huawei Technologies Ltd at Vancouver’s airport on December 1 severely damaged relations between China and Canada.

The US wants her extradited to face charges that she committed fraud by misleading banks about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran.

“Last night I asked for and accepted John McCallum’s resignation as Canada’s ambassador to China,” Mr Trudeau said in a statement.

Mr Trudeau said Jim Nickel, the deputy head of mission at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, would represent his government in China. He thanked Mr McCallum, a former minister in Mr Trudeau’s cabinet, for his 20 years of public service.

China detained two Canadians shortly after Meng’s arrest in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release her. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial of a drug case, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier.

Mr McCallum told Chinese media in the Toronto area earlier in the week that the extradition of Meng to the United States “would not be a happy outcome.”

He suggested the case was politically motivated and said the US could make a trade deal with China in which it would no longer seek her extradition, and two Canadian detained in China could then be released.

But on Thursday Mr McCallum walked back the remarks and said he “misspoke.”

Mr Trudeau had earlier dismissed calls to fire Mr McCallum, but he clearly had enough after the envoy spoke off script again. Mr Trudeau and foreign minister Chrystia Freeland have stressed that Canada's government cannot interfere politically in the case.

The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Andrew Scheer, said Mr McCallum should have been fired days ago because his remarks raised concerns about the politicisation of the Meng case.

Mr Scheer said Mr McCallum caused damage to Canada’s reputation by delivering different messages through different media on different days.

Mr McCallum’s remarks surprised many and fuelled speculation that Canada might be trying to send a signal to China to reduce tensions.

A year ago, Mr McCallum also made controversial comments about how Canada had more in common with China than the United States under Donald Trump.

Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said he felt bad for Mr McCallum but said it was the right thing to do.

“What is worse is this is happening in the middle of the crisis when we need all-hands on deck,” Mr Saint-Jacques said.

He said the Chinese will now know that Mr McCallum was not speaking for the Canadian government.

Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Mr Trudeau, said “Mr McCallum’s remarks were continuing to cause confusion about Canada’s position. On a matter of this importance, the Canadian government has to speak with a single, clear voice.”

Robert Bothwell, a professor at the University of Toronto, said it is not an ambassador’s job to speak out of turn.

“Of course, McCallum can obviously take refuge in arguing that what he said was largely true, but he can’t escape the fact that it wasn’t his job to say it. It does underline the hazards of sending a politician to do a diplomat’s job,” Mr Bothwell said.

Mr Saint-Jacques said he spoke to China’s consul general in Montreal on Thursday who reported that China is furious at Canada for arresting Meng on behalf of the US, which is involved in a trade talks with China.

Mr Saint-Jacques said the consul general told him he thinks a Canadian delegation should visit Beijing for talks. Mr Saint-Jacques believes Canada should appoint a special envoy to try to resolve the crisis.

Mr Trudeau and Ms Freeland have stressed that Canada has an extradition treaty with the US that it must respect.

Meng is out on bail in Vancouver awaiting her extradition proceedings. The US has until Wednesday to submit paperwork for the extradition request.

Huawei has close ties to China’s military and is considered one of the country’s most successful international enterprises.