Sample Questions to Ask Candidates & Politicians During and After the Election

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Canada-PRC relations: the clash of fundamental values

• Do you believe the PRC is too big for Canada to stand up to like some people say, “We need the PRC – and the PRC doesn’t need us” or that we were only “a flea sitting on China’s shoulder”?

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• Do you believe Canada could and should think of more creative ways to punch above our belt when dealing with the thuggish but gigantic powerhouse of the PRC so as to maintain a more realistic Canada China relation on equal footing? If so, what are the ways proposed by your party or you personally to achieve this?

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• Do you agree that the Beijing regime’s bullying and thuggish behaviour is unacceptable, that it is eroding the rule of law based international order; therefore, Canada should halt and rethink our “engagement policy” with China? 

 

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Safeguarding Canadian interests - Economic Coercion 

“The majority of our exports to China are commodities for which the supply is constrained by natural resources that are either scarce or rapidly depleting in China”; whereas “all our imports from China are manufactured goods that are easily replaceable from suppliers in other markets, despite possibly higher prices.”

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• Do you agree that Canada has the leverage to push back at Beijing’s economic coercion since China needs our products way more than we need theirs?

 

 

Safeguarding Canadian interests - Trade Diversification 

According to a recent media report, “China is Canada’s second largest trading partner, although trade is imbalanced. Canada imported $61.6-billion in goods from China in 2024 but sold only $30.2-billion to China, according to statistics from the Nova Scotia government’s economic statistics division. Nova Scotia pays close attention to trade because it sells a lot of seafood to China including live lobsters.”

 

• Do you agree that pursuing further trade and economic ties with China will make us more dependent on the thuggish PRC and is very risky for Canada?

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• Do you agree that Canada should pursue trade diversification in the Indo-Pacific region?

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• Do you agree that Canada should seek to strengthen, whenever and wherever possible, our trade, cultural and other relationships with Taiwan?

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• Would you agree or disagree Canadian businesses, corporations and public institutions affiliated or funded by the federal government should pursue and maximize profits, financial returns or cost-effectiveness at the expense of everything else? If no, what would be the right balance and how to achieve it?

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• Do you agree that we should register and scrutinize all foreign funding sources for Canadian R&D activities and ban those intend to steal our intellectual property?

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• Do you agree to withdraw our membership in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is led by the PRC?

 

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Upholding Canadian Core Values

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Accountability, Transparency and Openness

• Do you think that politicians – especially candidates and party leaders in the upcoming election – should do more than the existing law requires and be transparent about their assets/investments and declare any potential conflict of interests before Canadians head to the poll?

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• If so, how should the law be changed? If not, why not?

 

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Freedoms, Civil Liberties and Human Rights 

• Do you support a mandatory orientation program for all foreign students coming from non-democratic countries to study the philosophy and the value system of Canadian democracy? If so, would you advocate for federal funding to support such programs?

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The Sergei Magnitsky Law

Many CCP elites and PRC govt officials, such as Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, own properties and assets in Canada. Some even have Canadian citizenship or permanent residency. 

 

• If elected, would you advocate for the application of the “Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act” (the Sergei Magnitsky Law) to sanction officials of the PRC and Hong Kong who have committed gross human rights abuses?

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The Australian Model: Countering the PRC Interference 

Australia introduced in 2018 a series of legislative and administrative measures to counter the PRC interference, including a foreign interference law that broadens the definition of espionage and criminalizes the conduction of covert activities on behalf of a foreign power to influence a government process or the exercise of democratic rights in Australia. 

 

• How serious do you think is the PRC’s infiltration and interference in Canada?

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• Do you support a similar foreign interference law in Canada, especially the criminalization of covert activities on behalf of a foreign power? If so, how to? If not, why not?

 

The Australian government has established a university foreign interference task force about the risk of being co-opted by the CCP. The task force is to help universities to strengthen cyber defences, protect sensitive research and intellectual property, and to ensure that the collaboration with foreign individuals or organizations doesn’t harm national interests. Universities will be required to work with security agencies to counter foreign interference and survey their students about freedom of speech on campus.

 

• Do you agree that Canada should take similar measures with our universities and colleges? If elected, would your party be willing to provide adequate funding for such initiatives?