BREAKING: Canadian Government To Ban Huawei From 5G Networks

Years late, but at least it’s finally being done.

Update: The announcement can be viewed below


Previous updates:


After years of being called on to do so, and after months of an announcement being ‘weeks away,’ the Liberal government is finally bringing Canada in step with our closest allies and banning Huawei from our 5G networks.

The story was first broken by Christopher Nardi:

“The Canadian government will ban equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G network, according to two government sources.

The decision is expected to be announced by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on Thursday afternoon, according to the sources who were granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak of the issue publicly.

With the move, Canada falls in line with its allies in the Five Eyes intelligence network — the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. — who have all already banned or restricted Huawei equipment.”

Long-delayed move

The Liberals have been promising a decision on Huawei for some time.

At one point, they promised to issue the decision prior to the 2019 election.

That never happened, and the decision was put off over and over again.

Despite government inaction, Canada’s telecom companies seemed to sense which way the wind was blowing and announced partnerships with companies other than Huawei.

End of the China romance?

The Trudeau Liberals have – ever since taking office – been trying to move Canada closer and closer into China’s orbit.

They pushed for a free trade deal and extradition deal, and their unwillingness to ban Huawei was long seen as an attempt to stay in Xi Jinping’s good graces.

The fact that the Liberals have finally bowed to overwhelming pressure demonstrates the strength both of Canadian public opinion and from what was certainly tough lobbying from our closest allies.

At the end of the day, our trade relationship, military alliance, and intelligence sharing with the United States will always be more important than any connections to China, and even the Trudeau Liberals have been forced to acknowledge that fundamental reality.

This seems to bring a conclusive end to the naïve and romantic approach the Liberals took towards China, and coupled with plans to increase our military spending and potentially join the US missile defense system it shows how a more dangerous world is forcing our nation to adopt some common sense.

Spencer Fernando