Canada expels top Chinese diplomat as ties between two nations worsens

On Monday Canada announced the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat who has been accused of seeking to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of Beijing.

This development has worsened the ties between the two nations.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement declaring the diplomat persona non grata said, " we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs."

"We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance," she added.

The move has aggravated the already strained ties between the two countries. China has said that the decision was based on 'groundless' allegations.

China said that it had filed an official protest against the decision and also added that it breached international law and diplomatic norms. Beijing also accused Canada of deliberately undermining relations with its second largest trading partner.

According to reports Zhao Wei, an official at the Chinese consulate in Toronto was asked to leave Canada within five days.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been under immense pressure to take a hardline with China following revelations in recent months that it sought to sway the elections in Canada.

Genevieve Tellier, a politics professor at the University of Ottawa said, "there was a real political risk for the Trudeau government in this affair, which is taking a gamble by showing its muscles in this way."

The relations between the two nations have been tense since Canada's arrest in 2018 of a top Huawei executive and the detention of two Canadian nationals in China in an apparent retaliation.