Ottawa: According to a poll released on Wednesday, the majority of Canadians want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take stronger action in response to China's alleged election interference as relations between the two nations once again deteriorate.
In response to a string of recent events, including Beijing's arbitrary detention of two Canadians and media reports of election meddling, about 53% of respondents said they felt Canada's response was "not strong enough," according to polling company Angus Reid Institute.
In addition, 41% thought the federal government's response was "about right," while 6% thought it was "too strong," according to the online survey.
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According to the institute's president Shachi Kurl, who conducted a survey of 1,622 Canadian adults from February 23 to February 25, "Canadians are indicating that they expect their government to take this seriously.
Trudeau acknowledged that the Chinese made attempts to meddle in the elections, but he insisted that the results of the elections in 2019 and 2021 were unaffected. He has so far resisted calls for a thorough investigation into the accusations by the public.
The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, is being conducted as Canada and China continue to be at odds over election-related and other security-related issues.
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Canada this week prohibited the use of the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on equipment provided by the government, citing security and privacy concerns. Before being shot down last month, a rumoured Chinese spy balloon was seen flying over the United States and Canada.
Recent media reports have suggested that China is still interfering in Canada's elections. This week, Trudeau denied one report that claimed Canada's spy agency had instructed his office to withdraw a Chinese-Canadian candidate in 2019 because of his connections to Beijing.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa responded to the most recent report on Wednesday with an email that called the accusations "baseless and defamatory." The embassy stated, "We are not interested in meddling in Canada's internal affairs, nor have we ever attempted to do so.
However, the majority of Canadians reject the embassy's assertion. According to the survey, about 65% of respondents said they thought the Chinese government "definitely" or "probably" tried to meddle with the 2021 election.
According to 69 percent of respondents, the Canadian government "is afraid to stand up to China," but opinions on the potential economic repercussions of Ottawa taking stronger action were divided, with 46 percent of respondents expressing concern and another 46 percent dismissing such worries, according to the Institute.