Canadians’ antipathy toward China makes the case of the ‘two Michaels’ even harder to resolve

by David Korzinski | March 18, 2021 12:42 pm

By Shachi Kurl, President

Anger. Barely concealed, seething hostility. As the “trials” of Michaels Spavor and Kovrig begin in China – the state that extrajudicially kidnapped those two Canadian men more than 800 days ago – these are the emotions Canadians feel towards the Beijing regime.

Recent polling from the Angus Reid Institute[1] shows people signalling to their government in Ottawa that it’s time to draw a harder line. In four years, favourable views of China have plummeted from 48 per cent to 14 per cent. Just one-in-10 wishes to pursue closer trade ties with that country. Most would block its ability to invest in sensitive Canadian industries, and prohibit it any role in this nation’s 5G build-out. The vast majority believe China hasn’t told the truth regarding COVID-19. They are firmly of the view its actions towards the Uighur minority should be defined as genocide.

Even seemingly benign, supposedly uniting events such as the Olympics leave a sour taste in the mouths of more than half the country: Just over 50 per cent say Canada’s athletes, coaches and fans should boycott Beijing 2022. It’s all summed up in one overarching message from Canadians: More than three-quarters (77 per cent) say there can be no improvement in Sino-Canadian relations unless the Michaels are released.

For the rest of this piece, please view it on the Ottawa Citizen’s site[2] where it was initially published.

Source URL: https://angusreid.org/canadians-antipathy-toward-china-makes-the-case-of-the-two-michaels-even-harder-to-resolve/

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