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In contrast, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly condemned the Chinese ambassador’s comments and voiced out support for controversial issues elsewhere in China, though he noted that escalation was not the intention. 

«We will stand up loudly and clearly for human rights, all around the world, whether it’s talking about the situation faced by the Uighurs, whether it’s talking about the very concerning situation in Hong Kong, whether it’s calling out China for its coercive diplomacy,” Trudeau reportedly said last Friday.

Canadian foreign affairs minister, François-Philippe Champagne also condemned Cong’s comments, calling them «totally unacceptable and disturbing», according to a «Globe and Mail» report. 

North American Neighbor

The muted Canadian response also contrasts with those from its private U.S. counterparts which have openly voiced their concerns.

«If trust […] is broken, faith in Hong Kong as a premier financial center will begin to decline,» according to a finews.asia interview in May with Robert Grieves, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham HK) which unveiled this week that it had sold its office at a discount for $18.7 million.

«I want to reaffirm that as a company, we respect and embrace the Freedom of Speech and the right to voice issues that are dear to our heart and to the city defined under the Rule of Law,» according to a note from Citibank’s Hong Kong and Macau CEO Angel Ng last year. «We hope the situation will be resolved soon and Hong Kong will once again return to being the city we all cherish.»

«Coercive Diplomacy»

Cong’s comments are particularly concerning due to increasing claims by Canadian officials of «coercive diplomacy» by Beijing with regards to its 2018 decision to arrest Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in mainland China. The move is viewed as retaliation to the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou just days before.

«[Kovrig and Spavor] must be brought home,» Champagne added.

In a Bloomberg interview, Cong denied that the two Canadian citizens were detained without due process and called Meng’s arrest «a severe political incident concocted by the United States to suppress Chinese high-tech enterprises and Huawei».