Chinese EVs arrive on Canadian soil as federal memo warns of privacy risks – National
Chinese EVs arrive on Canadian soil as federal memo warns of privacy risks – National
https://globalnews.ca/news/11886545/national-security-concerns-chinese-evs/
Publish Date: 2026-06-02 13:39:00
Source Domain: globalnews.ca
Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) have started to arrive in Canada amid concerns about how the imports could affect national security.
More than 2,900 Chinese EVs entered Canada in May, data from Global Affairs Canada shows. This is the first month Canada has received EV imports from China.
These are the first vehicles to arrive since Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to let in Chinese EVs under a reduced tariff rate. Canada imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs in 2024. But following a trade trip to China in January, Carney is now allowing up to 49,000 EVs per year into Canada with a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent in exchange for lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural products.
A federal government memo obtained through the Access to Information Act and first reported on by The Canadian Press urges Canadians to be cautious about the privacy risks of digital devices they buy and use.
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The memo states that data connected to vehicle systems could be used to “establish patterns of life or conduct surveillance on sensitive sites.”
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“The risk that Canadian data collected by connected vehicles are accessed and exploited increases when these data are sent to — or transit through — foreign jurisdictions with more permissive data management frameworks,” it states.
“The Chinese government has shown their intention to try to use any technology that they can to advance their own goals,” Neil Bisson, a former intelligence officer, told Global News. “And that would include using Chinese EVs to collect data that they could be compelled back in China to use for whatever purposes they feel.”
While the memo states that there is an increasing threat of malicious actors targeting digital devices, Bisson said…
