Canada is probably doing only around 9 percent to 37 percent of what it should to combat malign Chinese Communist Party influence in the country. But the Canadian government is doing some things.
Dual use
One of the major things is ordering Hikvision Canada to suspend operations and leave the country because of the security risk that its surveillance gadgets pose. The government is also prohibiting all federal departments and government-owned corporations from using Hikvision products and requiring removal of Hikvision technology that is already in place (Cyber Press, June 30, 2025).
The decision stemmed from a multi-step ICA [Investment Canada Act] review assessing evidence from Canada’s security and intelligence agencies.
While specifics remain classified, the updated 2025 ICA guidelines emphasize economic security and supply-chain vulnerabilities.
The review incorporated Canada’s Sensitive Technology List (STL), which flags sectors like surveillance technology for heightened scrutiny.
Hikvision’s ties to China’s state apparatus and its dual-use capabilities (e.g., 3D DNR imaging and backlight compensation) were likely factors, given global concerns about data sovereignty….
Hikvision’s exit marks Canada’s most significant action against Chinese surveillance firms to date.
Hikvision disagrees that it should be kicked out of the Canadian market, pointing to its compliance with the Canadian government’s requests for documentation of its practices pertaining to encryption and network redundancy.
But there is no getting around the fact that Hikvision, a China-based company that is partly owned by the Chinese government, must primarily answer to the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government, not the Canadian government. Data it collects in Canada could easily be used and abused by the CCP.
Another strike against Hikvision is its provision of technology used for mass surveillance in the Xinjiang region of China. Its “alleged complicity in human rights abuses in Xinjiang” has led the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to impose sanctions on the company.
Fair, just, discriminatory
China’s commerce ministry wants Canada to “immediately correct its wrongdoing” in ejecting Hikvision. “The foreign ministry accused Canada of generalising the concept of national security and suppressing Chinese enterprises and urged it to provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.”
Contra the ministry, this is one of those times when being fair and just requires discriminating against the unfair and unjust.
Also see:
StoptheCCP.org: “Canadians in Cahoots With the Chinese Communist Party”
StoptheCCP.org: “Why Chinese Interference in Canadian Elections Supposedly Doesn’t Matter”
