Burton: Opening Statement to Canadian House of Commons International Trade Committee on February 26, 2026

 

Burton: The Illusion of “Beneficial” Relations Ottawa’s Latest Capitulation to Beijing

 Burton: The Illusion of “Beneficial” Relations Ottawa’s Latest Capitulation to Beijing

https://therealstory.substack.com/p/the-illusion-of-beneficial-relations?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2hy34d&triedRedirect=true

So, what is China’s actual motive in wanting to send a delegation of ersatz “parliamentarians” to Canada?

It is, of course, a classic United Front operational tactic: an opportunity to identify and curry favour with Canadian policymakers who might serve as promising targets for future influence. The broader, more insidious purpose is to promote the illusion that China is a legitimate nation-state with a legislature that serves as a moral and political equivalent to Canada’s democratic parliament.

China’s national constitution makes the ridiculous claim that this utterly impotent NPC is the “supreme organ of state power.” Try telling that to the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Bureau, where Xi Jinping’s true regime authority resides.

The bottom line is that the Canada-China Legislative Association is a Communist Party United Front Work Department proxy agency. It serves the Chinese regime’s geostrategic purposes, and Canadian taxpayers are footing half the bill.

Burton: China’s political roiling is getting attention here in Canada - iPolitics

Burton: China’s political roiling is getting attention here in Canada - iPolitics

https://www.ipolitics.ca/2026/02/13/chinas-political-roiling-is-getting-attention-here-in-canada/

Whatever is really going on with Xi’s grip on power (and officials in Washington and elsewhere are watching very closely), the glaring fundamental barrier between Beijing and the West remains the incompatibility between the absolute authority of China’s Communist Party and the societal accountability of democratic institutions — including Canada’s.

This is not simply a case of divergent opinions over human rights or the role of sovereignty in relations between nations. Before we even begin negotiating the details of diplomatic or trade agreements, seeing the Canada-China relationship as a “strategic partnership” first requires us to believe that we can have reciprocal, fair state-to-state relations.

And that requires buying into a myth, not reality.

Burton on CTV News: With a death sentence in China overturned, could Robert Schellenberg receive a trial in Canada?

 

Jason Kenney's Speech at Burton Book Launch December 1, 2025 Lord Elgin Hotel

Jason Kenney's Speech at Ottawa Book Launch December 1, 2025 Lord Elgin Hotel

He was the only academic willing to challenge the deep and subtle Canadian foreign policy consensus about China relations and always thoughtfully. He was one of the first Canadian scholars to go into China following the normalization of relations in 1970, and always with a fair mind. 

He and I encountered each other when he was assigned a contract by the Department of Foreign Affairs to produce a report specifically on the Canada-China  human rights dialogue. And I'll allow him to summarize it. But, the headline was essentially he said it was a sham and a fraud, and that it got in the way of substantive, respectful dialogue between the two sides. 

Well, the Department tried to bury his report. I was then the chairman of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons. And so we passed a motion as a committee to force the release of this report, and all hell broke loose, complicated by the fact that I was actually the parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister at the time. 

And that was just the beginning of a long and interesting journey that I had with Charles for many years in government. 

I want to say that for all of those years, I tried at my best to challenge a consensus that was not operating in the interest of Canada, and I am pleased to say that that view, Charles’ view, the view of many of you in this room, has been vindicated, and it's not a happy education, but it's a vindication nevertheless. And I can tell you that the Canadian business community that was speaking with one voice 15 years ago, 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, suggesting that the only possible Canadian policy vis-a-vis Beijing was when it was a total supplication. On all counts, that is no longer the case because virtually none of those businesses actually made earnings with their operations, most of them if they made the effort there found that their local partners  absconded with intellectual property, with copyright, with patent, with sensitive information, with profits, with capital. With no legal recourse, despite the Harper government's best efforts. All of which is to say that it's been a bitter vindication.

 But Charles, you've been a voice in the wilderness. You've been a prophet. And you more than anyone in Canada. Is responsible for the fundamental shift from cynicism towards realism in the Canada China relationship, and I just want to say, as a friend, thank you for that. Thank you.

Burton: China reboot: A lot is at risk in Carney’s search for markets in January 20, 2026 Toronto Star

China reboot: A lot is at risk in Carney’s search for markets

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/china-reboot-a-lot-is-at-risk-in-carney-s-search-for-markets/article_07d17cbb-fce8-4597-b5c6-b673368e9cb7.html

The complexity of this relationship hasn’t changed. While Mr. Carney described a “new strategic partnership … that will help set Canada and China up for the new world order”, Chinese President Xi Jinping referred to the partnership as “with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world.” The new order that Canada is invited to join is the China-dominated world Xi envisions by 2050, which he calls "the community of the common destiny of mankind."

Beijing likes joint statements that cite “strategic partnerships.” Canadian officials may not have grasped the consequences of the phrase, but Xinhua news agency seized upon it with the headline, “Xi calls for advancing building of China-Canada new strategic partnership.” 

Past experiences of Canada and other nations is that if we don’t subordinate our values and sovereignty to China’s expectations of a “strategic partner,” then canola sales don’t happen, or Beijing’s interpretations of agreements weaken considerably from how we understood them.

Former diplomat speaks on Canada and China's shifting relations, and implications for U.S. ties: Charles Burton on CTV

Charles Burton Warns Canada on China Policy

How relations with China could impact CUSMA negotiations: Charles Burton on CTV