In a statement released on her Twitter account, Ottawa’s top diplomat detailed the country’s position regarding the alleged Chinese interference in Canada’s federal elections of 2019 and 2021.
"Canada will never tolerate any form of foreign interference in our democracy and internal affairs by China," Joly told her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang as they met on the sidelines of Delhi’s G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, according to the statement.
Joly added that Ottawa will neither accept breaches of Canadian territorial integrity or sovereignty, adding it will also not tolerate any violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by Chinese diplomats stationed in Canada.
However, while relations between Canada and China continue to sour, both ministers agreed on keeping lines of communications open, the statement continued.
On Tuesday, the Canadian government released a report on elections integrity. According to the findings, although no "significant" indications of state-sponsored interference had been observed during the 2021 federal elections, intelligence agencies expressed concern over potential foreign meddling by China and other states.
China has repeatedly denied having engaged in any sort of interference during past elections in Canada.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin dismissed Joly’s claims of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Ottawa being involved in electoral interference, according to Chinese media. Qin said that China has never meddled in the internal affairs of any state and its diplomats in Ottawa have never infringed on the Vienna Convention.