Trudeau slams door on swap of Huawei's Meng for two Canadians

China spokesman had hinted pair's spy charges are linked to extradition case

A protester demands the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who face espionage charges in China, outside the Vancouver court house where Huawei CFO Weng Wanzhou was attending a hearing in January. © Reuters

JULIET O'NEILL, Contributing writer

June 25, 2020 18:00 JST

Updated on June 26, 2020 10:30 JST

OTTAWA -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday emphatically rejected calls to intervene in the extradition hearings of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in an effort to free two Canadians charged with espionage in China.

Canada will remain "steadfast and strong" in demonstrating that "randomly arresting Canadians doesn't give you leverage with the government of Canada anywhere in the world," Trudeau said.