By Xiao Ran
On Jan. 31, a wave of protests swept across 28 Canadian cities as demonstrators gathered chanting “Carney Must Go.” The demonstrations squarely targeted the Canadian government’s China policy, alleged economic missteps, and mounting cost-of-living pressures. Organizers rallied participants through social media under the slogan “Stand United Canada,” calling for transparency, accountability, and genuine leadership from the government.
The protests were sparked by a widely shared post on Facebook and Instagram titled “Stand United Canada,” urging nationwide action on Jan. 31—from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. According to the event page, similar rallies took place in 28 cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton in Ontario; Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia; Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta; Regina and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan; Winnipeg in Manitoba; Montreal in Quebec; Woodstock in New Brunswick; Halifax in Nova Scotia; and Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island.
In Toronto, the protest began at noon at the bustling Yonge–Dundas Square. Nearly one hundred demonstrators brought their own flags and placards to voice dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Carney. Immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong were visible among the crowd.
Vision Times reporters interviewed several participants on site.
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Voices from Toronto: protesters criticize the Carney government
Mr. Luo, an immigrant from mainland China, told Vision Times that the protest aimed to demand transparency in government policymaking and to oppose backroom dealings, while calling for Carney’s resignation. “We think he’s worse than Trudeau,” Luo said. From a livelihood perspective, he noted that Canada’s economy has underperformed for 11 consecutive years, with recent data showing near-zero growth.
The United States accounts for about 70 percent of Canada’s total trade, yet the Carney government has pivoted toward China—an “about-face” he sees as a serious policy error. “He’s taking the opposite path now, which clearly doesn’t help our current economic situation—it’s counterproductive,” Luo emphasized.
Luo also opposed Liberal legislation that he believes restricts freedom of expression. Regarding the outcomes of Carney’s recent China visit, Luo criticized the plan to import 49,000 electric vehicles from China. While it may appear beneficial in the short term, he said it has triggered U.S. countermeasures. “What have we lost? Over a thousand jobs in Ontario,” he asked.
Dino Chan, a Canadian from Hong Kong, said he came to the rally to “defend Canada.” Recalling that nearly 2,000 Canadian soldiers died defending Hong Kong in 1941, he said, “Hong Kong owes Canada a great debt. Canadian commanders even gave their lives to defend Hong Kong. Have Hong Kong people ever protected Canada? No.” After 2019, Canada rescued many Hong Kongers through the “lifeboat” program; Chan himself received asylum as a refugee. Today, he warned, the Chinese Communist Party’s trade coercion threatens Canada’s democratic freedoms and could even lead to the deportation of Tibetans, Hong Kongers, and dissidents from mainland China.
Chan called on Ottawa to halt trade agreements with the CCP, citing China’s repeated threats to halt imports of Canadian products, as well as similar pressure exerted on Australia’s iron ore, Japan’s seafood, and Taiwan’s products. “Why is the Canadian prime minister deceiving the people by signing such dangerous trade agreements?” he asked. He also raised security concerns about Chinese EVs: “If one day EVs with backdoors suddenly catch fire and explode simultaneously on highways, what happens to Canadian lives?” Chan urged Canada to return to its core principles and guard against infiltration.
Ah Kin, a Canadian citizen of Hong Kong descent, bluntly accused Carney of “selling out the country.” “He recently went to China, kowtowed to the Chinese Communist Party, and sold out Canadian interests,” he said. Ah Kin worried that importing EVs would lead to job losses among Canadian auto workers. “As a Canadian citizen, I want the prime minister to step down. If this continues, Canada’s manufacturing sector will decline.” He hopes the protest will raise public awareness of the impact of Carney’s China visit and push for the enforcement of a Foreign Agents Registry to counter CCP interference in Canadian politics. “We want a fair and just election.”
Rachael, an immigrant from mainland China, said the Carney government’s China policy is pushing Canada toward disaster, most acutely felt in everyday life.
She argued that large-scale (illegal) immigration is damaging Canada, driving up prices and living costs while misleading the public. “Trade with China under Carney looks great on the surface, but the U.S. accounts for nearly 80 percent of Canada’s trade, while China is only about 5 percent,” she said. “People need to wake up. If you don’t participate in politics for your own livelihood, politics will come knocking on you.”
Rachael also expressed concern over Carney’s public call at the Davos Forum for building a “new world order.” “Many people voted for him because he’s famous. But what is he really doing behind the scenes? What does ‘new world order’ even mean? How many Chinese Canadians actually understand this?” she asked.
Regarding the China trade agreements and EV imports, Rachael called them a publicity stunt. “There’s nothing wrong with EVs themselves, but why go the long way around? And how many people really need EVs? Tens of thousands of cars mean little in a country as big as Canada.” She added that former U.S. President Trump’s tariffs on Canada were not without reason. “Nearly 80 percent of Canada’s trade depends on the U.S. It’s our closest neighbor—how much benefit has Canada taken from the U.S.?”
Perspectives from local Canadians
Dave Toomath, a local Canadian, stressed that the protest’s importance lay in sharing information. “Access to information today isn’t as easy as it used to be—there’s too much misinformation hiding the truth,” he said. Dave worried about infringements on rights, restricted access to information, and government-controlled narratives. “All of this erodes democracy,” he noted. On Carney’s policies, Dave said the prime minister “says one thing and does another,” promising to fix livelihood issues without tangible results. “He talked about a new world order at Davos—I don’t believe Canadians voted for that.
He needs to be far more transparent about his agenda.” While he welcomed the idea of affordable EVs, Dave warned of the risks of cooperation with China. “We must be very careful about what we agree to. The CCP’s values differ from ours. Canada was founded on democracy and Christian principles—many people came here for these reasons, and now they’re being challenged.” Asked about Carney’s positives, Dave replied candidly: “I really can’t think of any. He’s increased the tax burden, bureaucracy is out of control, and everything weighs more heavily on taxpayers.”
Tammy Felts sharply criticized what she called corruption under the Liberal government over the past decade. “Carney’s ‘new world order’ is communism by another name—doing business with every country except the one we should work with most: the United States,” she said. Felts noted that Canada’s economy and security are tightly linked to the U.S., yet Carney has brought in Chinese EVs and sold mineral rights to the United Arab Emirates. “He’s destroying Canada while making his own companies richer.” She recalled the “Two Michaels” incident, criticizing the government for forgetting history. “Canada executed an arrest warrant (for Meng Wanzhou), and the CCP retaliated by detaining them for three years under harsh conditions.”
She warned that such issues—corruption, money laundering, fentanyl trafficking, overseas police stations, and community intimidation—would continue. Although a Foreign Agents Registry law has passed, she said it has not been enforced, and called for action against Chinese and Russian election interference. “We are a democracy. The government should serve the people—but right now, we have no voice.”
An anonymous male participant said he was fighting for his children and grandchildren. “Canada is going downhill. People are suffering; families are hurting. For ten years the Liberals have squandered our money, and Carney is even worse. Our freedoms are slipping away.” He criticized Carney for failing to reach a tariff agreement with the U.S. “Trump said there is no Canada without the U.S., and we do rely on America. Every other country has reached a tariff deal with Trump—why can’t Canada?” He said he does not trust the CCP regime. “I love the Chinese people, but I don’t trust the CCP. Their human-rights record is terrible—how can you make deals with the devil?” He emphasized that information gaps in the media leave many Canadians unaware of these issues.
