Canada has not expelled a foreign diplomat since 2018

Despite evidence of diplomatic misconduct, more than five years have passed since Canada last ejected a foreign diplomat from the country.

The blue-and-yellow bike locked to a telephone pole outside the Russian embassy in Ottawa was meant to symbolize Ukraine as it endured Moscow’s disastrous invasion.

But after dark on Aug. 16, 2022, a black sedan stopped outside the embassy. Three men got out, spray-painted the bike black, and tagged the pole with the Z logo of Russian forces.

Although the act was caught on camera by a witness, and the vehicle had diplomatic licence plates and was later seen in the embassy parking lot, no Russian envoys were shown the door.

The Canadian government is currently under pressure for not expelling a Toronto-based Chinese diplomat accused of threatening the family of Conservative MP Michael Chong.

But these are not the only countries whose attachés’ misconduct has gone unpunished: not a single diplomat appears to have been expelled by the government in more than five years.

When asked for details of the government’s record of diplomatic expulsions, Global Affairs Canada responded with a link to a press release about four Russians sent packing in March 2018.

The foreign affairs department’s media relations office refused to elaborate when asked to confirm that was Canada’s last diplomatic expulsion. “We have no further comment,” spokesperson Grantly Franklin said.

Over the past five years, foreign diplomats have been accused of spreading disinformation, helping a foreign student accused of sexual assault flee Canada, trashing a rental unit and punching a police officer in the face.