Amidst ongoing tensions with China, Justin Trudeau has fired Canada’s Ambassador to China.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s office says he asked for and accepted John McCallum’s resignation on Friday.
Multiple media outlets are saying McCallum’s firing comes after Trudeau warned him not to talk publicly about the case of two Canadians who are detained in China and the case of a Huawei executive being held in Canadian custody.
Media are reporting he gave an interview last week to Chinese-language media detailing how Meng could avoid being extradited to the U.S.
McCallum issued a statement Thursday saying he misspoke about the Huawei Chief Financial Officer’s case and regrets causing confusion.
Trudeau thanks McCallum for his almost 20 years of service.
His duties will be filled by the Deputy Head of Mission of Canada in Beijing, Jim Nickel.
Meanwhile, the head of the federal Conservatives is slamming Trudeau’s handling of the situation.
Andrew Scheer says Trudeau should have fired the ex-ambassador sooner.
Scheer argues the Prime Minister allowed more damage to be done by not demanding McCallum’s resignation as soon as he made the comments. (Photo: abdallahh / CC)
It should never have come to this. Justin Trudeau should have fired his ambassador the moment he interfered in this case. Instead, he did nothing and allowed more damage to be done. More weakness and more indecision from Trudeau on China. https://t.co/ZkC9S8lS1R
— Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) January 26, 2019
