The decision was expected and comes after the United States and several Western countries made similar decisions.
“Today we present our intention to ban the inclusion of Huawei’s and ZTE’s products and services in Canada’s telecom system,” Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a news conference according to CBC.
Canada has been considering a halt to business since 2019, but has repeatedly postponed a decision.
Huawei is the world largest manufacturer of telecom network equipment, and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mobile phones. But several countries suspect the company of espionage and security threats. The United States has pressured Canada to stop its neighbor in the north for Huawei for that very reason.
“Companies in the telecom industry in Canada will not be allowed to have products or services in their networks that endanger our national security,” says Champagne.
The company – which was also ported from the construction of the Swedish 5G network on the grounds that there are security risks with its components – has repeatedly denied both technology theft and that its products pose a security threat.
But the issue is particularly intricate in Canada in particular.
The Chinese telecom giant CFO Meng Wanzhou, daughter of CEO Ren Zhengfei, was placed under house arrest in Vancouver, Canada between 2018 and 2021, for providing false information to a US-based bank. The case has had major consequences on both a political and economic level.
As recently as Wednesday, China eased a three-year ban on rapeseed imports, which is seen as a response to Meng Wanzhou being allowed to return to his home country. Before the stop, China had accounted for 40 percent of Canada’s rapeseed exports.
China has not responded to Canada’s Huawei stop, but according to CBC China’s ambassador to Canada last year said it would “send the wrong signals” if Huawei was shut down. And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the countries’ relations were facing a choice of path.