By Meng Hao, Vision Times
Canada’s foreign ministry has publicly condemned what it described as “escalating transnational repression” linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following a wave of bomb and mass shooting threats targeting Shen Yun Performing Arts venues across Canada.
In a formal statement posted to the Canadian Parliament website on May 8 and signed on behalf of Foreign Minister Anita Anand by Parliamentary Secretary Rob Oliphant, Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of “serious bomb and mass shooting threats” targeting Shen Yun and confirmed that the RCMP and Public Safety Canada had been notified and were investigating the matter.
“Canada will never tolerate acts of foreign interference or transnational repression against its citizens or those in Canada,” the statement, which was in response to a petition presented by Conservative MP Kelly DeRidder to the House of Commons, said.
RELATED: Bomb Threats Halt Shen Yun Shows in Canada Despite Police Clearance
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Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice rooted in the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” Introduced to the public in 1992, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice in 1999 after seeing its rapid growth in popularity as a threat to its authoritarian regime. Since then, practitioners have faced accounts of arrest, torture, forced labor, arbitrary detention, surveillance, and even forced organ harvesting.
More than 30 threats reported across Canada
Grace Wollensak, coordinator for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, said that since 2024, more than 30 violent threats, including bomb threats targeting Shen Yun performances and officials supportive of Falun Gong, have been documented across Canada alone. Some threats reportedly even went as far as to reference attacks against Parliament Hill and even the Canadian prime minister.
Founded in 2006, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company, showcasing the beauty and splendor of traditional Chinese culture and art prior to the ravages of communism. The New York-based company currently boasts eight equally sized troupes that tour and perform across the world simultaneously, putting on a brand new production each year.
Globally, organizations tracking the incidents say more than 270 threats linked to CCP-related intimidation campaigns have been recorded. Wollensak said the CCP’s transnational repression efforts have intensified significantly over the past two years, combining disinformation campaigns, legal pressure, and violent threats into what she described as a coordinated global operation.
“Since last November, nearly 20 members of Parliament have read petitions in Parliament signed by more than 3,000 Canadian citizens or permanent residents calling on the government to stop the CCP’s interference and transnational repression against Falun Gong practitioners and Shen Yun in Canada,” she said.
Petitions submitted to Parliament urged the Canadian government to publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong and to impose stronger sanctions on Chinese officials and agents allegedly involved in overseas repression efforts.
Commitment to religious freedom
In its statement, Global Affairs Canada defined transnational repression as efforts by foreign governments or their proxies to intimidate or silence individuals and communities abroad through threats or coercion. The statement specifically noted that such tactics have frequently targeted groups including Falun Gong practitioners.
RELATED: Congressional Commission Holds Hearing on Forced Organ Harvesting in China as Trump Meets Xi
“Canada will always support the right of Canadians to express themselves freely and peacefully,” Anand said in the statement, adding that Canada would continue working internationally, including through the United Nations, to defend fundamental freedoms. She also reiterated Canada’s longstanding calls for China to “respect, protect, and promote freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion.”
Earlier this year, Anand said she directly raised concerns over China’s human rights situation with Chinese officials. The statement further noted that Canada made combating transnational repression a priority during its 2025 G7 presidency. At the June 2025 G7 summit in Kananaskis, member states issued a joint declaration expressing concern over transnational repression conducted by authoritarian governments and their proxies.
Shen Yun performances targeted
The controversy escalated earlier this year after Shen Yun performances in Toronto and Vancouver became the target of repeated threats. On March 29, a Shen Yun performance at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts was canceled after the theater received a bomb threat email allegedly sent from a Chinese-linked account. Additional performances were later disrupted by similar threats.
Following negotiations with organizers, the theater reportedly agreed to reschedule canceled performances for late June.
A similar threatening email was also reportedly sent to Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Despite the threat, Vancouver police later determined it lacked credibility, and performances scheduled between April 8 and 12 proceeded as planned.
However, according to reporting by Global News, officials from the Chinese consulate in Vancouver later met with staff from Vancouver Civic Theatres and directly requested that Shen Yun performances be canceled — a move critics described as overt foreign interference in Canadian cultural affairs.
Joel Chipkar, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, called on Ottawa to publicly condemn the CCP’s transnational repression campaign and expel any Chinese consular officials involved. “We must expel CCP agents operating in Canada who intimidate and threaten people here,” Conservative MP Larry Brock said during a parliamentary event earlier this month. “This behavior cannot be tolerated in a free democratic country like Canada.”
Cross-party support grows
At a World Falun Dafa Day event held on Parliament Hill on May 5, 19 members of Parliament publicly voiced support for Falun Gong practitioners and condemned Beijing’s overseas interference efforts. Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman said no foreign government or embassy should dictate what Canadians can watch or support. “There is no foreign government, foreign embassy, or ambassador that gets to tell Canada how to operate,” she said.
MP James Bezan also voiced support for expelling diplomats involved in transnational repression. “I one hundred percent agree that diplomats engaged in foreign intimidation and transnational repression should be expelled,” Bezan said. “This is an abuse of diplomatic privilege, and those responsible must be held accountable.”
Former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart similarly called for investigations into Chinese consular involvement and suggested Ottawa consider stronger diplomatic responses if interference continues. Analysts say Canada’s increasingly forceful response reflects growing international concern over authoritarian governments attempting to extend censorship and intimidation beyond their borders.
With the RCMP investigation ongoing and Canada continuing to prioritize transnational repression under the G7 framework, pressure is mounting on Ottawa to translate public statements into stronger enforcement measures, including possible sanctions and diplomatic expulsions.
