The Canadian government has ordered Chinese surveillance camera maker Hikvision to stop operating in Canada, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said on June 27.
“The government has determined that Hikvision Canada Inc.’s continued operations in Canada would be injurious to Canada’s national security. This determination is the result of a multi- step review that assessed information and evidence provided by Canada’s security and intelligence community,” the minister said.
Joly said government departments, agencies, and crown corporations will be banned from procuring new Hikvision products, and a review will be launched to ensure legacy equipment from the Chinese manufacturer is no longer used.
She also said that while the order doesn’t extend to the company’s affiliate operations outside of Canada, she “strongly encourage[s] all Canadians to take note of this decision and make their own decisions accordingly.”
Hikvision has not responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
In a statement published on June 28, the Chinese Embassy in Canada criticized the decision, saying it disrupts trade cooperation.
The embassy said it will “take all necessary measures” to protect the rights and interests of Chinese companies.
According to an article published in December 2024 by state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, the controlling shareholder of Hikvision, the company has been the top provider in the global video surveillance market for the past 11 years, with a 27.5 percent global market share. Since 2015, Hikvision has expanded into the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and big data.
As one of the biggest suppliers of surveillance equipment in China, Hikvision has been accused of aiding the communist regime in suppressing dissident groups and ethnic minorities.
Conor Healy, IPVM’s director of government research, previously told The Epoch Times that Hikvision’s equipment carries significant security risks because it “consistently” exhibited vulnerabilities in its software that open doors for hackers to access information.
Since 2019, the company has been blacklisted by a number of U.S. government departments and agencies over security and human rights concerns, including by the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense.
Investment Canada Act
Under Ottawa’s Investment Canada Act, the government can review foreign investments for potential injury to Canada’s national security.The minister made the remark following intense negotiations between Washington and Ottawa after the United States imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and in response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s call on the U.S. neighbors to build a “‘Fortress North America’ from the flood of Chinese imports.”