Trudeau Vows to Stand Firm Against ‘Increasingly Assertive’ China

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the Hotel Fairmont Royal York During the Ukraine Reform Conference in Toronto, on July 2, 2019. Andrew Lahodynskyj/The Canadian Press

MONTREAL—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will seek dialogue with China but won’t back down in its defence of Canadians against what he calls an increasingly assertive global power.

In a speech Wednesday in Montreal, Trudeau said the federal government is closely monitoring developments in Hong Kong, where there are 300,000 Canadian citizens.