Canadian MPs plan to visit Taiwan as Beijing says the trip is ‘painful’ to relations – nationally
A Liberal MP says she and her parliamentary colleagues will take part in a delegation to Taiwan this fall, despite a warning from China’s top diplomat that such visits would “damage” relations with Beijing.
MP Judy Sgro, chair of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, told The Canadian Press Liberal and Conservative MPs from the group will visit the self-governing island the week of October 11.
“It’s very important to do this kind of exchange,” Sgro said, adding Taiwan is “a beacon of hope in that part of the world for democratic values.”
In an interview with The Globe and Mail in April, Chinese Ambassador to Canada Wang Di was quoted as saying that Canadian parliamentarians have an official position and therefore any engagement with Taiwan is “harmful” to efforts to establish strong bilateral relations.
New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry said last week Beijing had banned four members of parliament from entering China for a year and demanded they apologize after visiting Taiwan.
Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China in January in what his government described as an effort to repair Canada’s relationship with Beijing, after years of disputes over the detention of Canadians, the canola tax and foreign interference.
The People’s Republic of China claims to be the sole representative of China and sees Taiwan as a corrupt province that must be integrated with the mainland.
Canada adheres to the one China policy which only officially recognizes Beijing as the government of China. The policy does not consider whether Taiwan is a country – although Sgro used that term.
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“It is a democratic country and they have their own general elections. Taiwanese people are very proud people and they are proud that they live under a democracy in a part of the world that doesn’t have that,” he said.
“They are very similar to Canadians … They are respectful, quiet, law-abiding citizens who look to Canada as a model they want to emulate and promote. And they have a strong economy.”
Sgro said the Prime Minister’s Office never contacted him about the trip and MPs never needed permission for such a visit.
“I don’t need to be confirmed by the institution. This is a group of friends in the Parliament. We travel by ourselves,” he said. “There has never been any interference or any suggestion, to me, that we shouldn’t do that – not then or now.”
In January, Liberal MPs Helena Jaczek and Marie-France Lalonde cut short a sponsored trip to Taiwan, just before Carney’s visit to Beijing, while Tory MPs continued the visit. Jaczek and Lalonde issued a statement at the time saying they were informed of the government’s advice and wanted to “avoid confusion with Canadian foreign policy.”
Sgro said on Monday that the members of Parliament left for themselves.
“There was concern at the time that it might interfere with the serious discussions that were to take place at the same time,” he said.
“The idea was that the time was not right, given that the prime minister had that meeting and he did not want to have any interruptions.”
Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said it is important that exchanges with Taiwan continue – especially those involving multiple political parties – after the ambiguous message sent when the two MPs ended their visit early.
“It is important from the point of view of democratic unity. At a time when democracies are under attack, internal and external challenges, we need to work closely together,” he said.
Taiwan and Canada can learn from each other as they deal with disinformation, foreign interference and foreign oppression, Nadjibulla said. Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy also called for deepening economic and scientific cooperation with Taiwan, he noted.
“The other thing is to make the point that Canadian foreign policy and Canadian policies in Taiwan and China are driven by Canadians here in Canada – rather than dictated by demands from Beijing or any other major power,” he said, noting China’s ban on four New Zealand MPs.
Foreign affairs critic Michael Chong visited Taiwan last month. He called the visit a show of support for Wang’s words and said he paid for the trip himself. The Chinese embassy said his visit violated the principle of one China.
Chong is among the Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs who have been pushing the Liberals to pursue a trade partnership framework with Taiwan. Ottawa offered no explanation as to why the agreement had not been signed.
A local representative in Canada said that Ottawa immediately stopped the process and said that the agreement had been ready to be signed for more than a year.
Beijing imposed sanctions on Chong and a House of Commons committee after Ottawa imposed its own sanctions related to officials in Xinjiang that Canada accused of abusing the human rights of the Uyghurs.
Sgro said the exchange of parliament is “really important” during the country’s turmoil.
“Strength comes from friendship, and getting to know each other happens through friendship. Then you better understand why different people act in different ways,” she said.
“Unfortunately, not everyone shares that view.”
© 2026 The Canadian Press
