Canada has “strongly condemned” China’s execution this year of four Canadians over drug offences, underlining its objection to China’s use of the death penalty against its citizens that was publicly confirmed the day before. 

“Canada strongly condemns China’s use of the death penalty, which is irreversible and inconsistent with basic human dignity,” Charlotte MacLeod, a spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada, a government department that oversees the country’s international relations, said. 

MacLeod said Canada had repeatedly called for clemency for the Canadian citizens “at the senior-most levels”. 

A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Canada said in an emailed statement this week that China always imposed “severe” penalties on drug-related crimes and maintained a “zero-tolerance attitude towards the drug problem”. The statement said the evidence against the Canadian citizens was “solid and sufficient”. 

“We urge the Canadian side to respect the rule of law and China’s judicial sovereignty, stop making irresponsible remarks, work in the same direction with China,” it said. 

After news of the executions was reported this week, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in Ottawa that she had been following the issue closely for months and both she and then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had personally asked China for leniency. “We made sure to press on China how much we need to ensure that ultimately, these Canadians would be safe,” she said. 

She did not confirm when the executions happened, but said she was in contact last week with a team in China and Ottawa that was supporting the families through “these difficult moments”. She has also been in contact with the families. Global Affairs Canada also continues to provide “consular assistance to the victims’ families”, the department said. 

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly. Photo /Getty Images 

Joly said she could not go into further detail because the families asked for privacy, but she confirmed the Canadians who were executed were all facing “charges linked to criminal activities, according to China, linked to drugs”. She also said all four were dual citizens, though China does not recognise dual citizenship. 

Joly said Canada would continue to “not only strongly condemn, but also ask for leniency for other Canadians that are facing similar situations”. 

Ottawa has opposed the death penalty for decades and avoids extraditing arrestees who could face the death penalty abroad, including in the United States. Canada “remains steadfast in its opposition to the use of the death penalty in all cases, everywhere”, Global Affairs Canada said. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning did not confirm the executions directly, but when asked about them at a news briefing, said: “Combating drug-related crimes is the responsibility of all countries. China is a country that upholds the rule of law. The law treats everyone the same regardless of nationality.” She said Chinese judicial authorities “handle those cases justly in strict accordance with the law”, including by protecting the defendants’ rights and Canadian consular rights. 

“Canada should respect the spirit of the rule of law and stop interfering in China’s judiciary sovereignty,” Mao said. 

China leads the world in executions, according to Amnesty International. Thousands are believed to be executed in the country every year, Amnesty said, but it noted the complete extent of use of the death penalty there is unknown because such data is considered a state secret. It’s followed by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the United States, in terms of the highest number of executions in 2023. 

China maintains a strict policy against drugs, with punishments of a 15-year sentence, life imprisonment or death on the charges of smuggling or manufacturing large quantities of narcotics, including more than 50g of heroin or amphetamine. 

But the country rarely executes Westerners. 

In 2019, another Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, was sentenced to death after he was convicted of drug smuggling by a Chinese court. He was accused of being involved in a scheme to smuggle more than 200kg of methamphetamine to Australia, but he has maintained his innocence and said he was a tourist enmeshed in a conspiracy by his interpreter. Canadian officials have condemned the ruling against Schellenberg, with Trudeau accusing China of “arbitrarily” applying the death penalty. 

He was not among the four executed this year. Global Affairs Canada said it continued to advocate clemency for Schellenberg and provide him and his family consular assistance. 

-Sammy Westfall, Washington Post