Alex Tyrell, leader of the Parti Vert du Québec (Green Party of Quebec) in Canada paid a visit to China in late April on invitation. On June 9, he gave a detailed report back to a public webinar hosted by the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War and endorsed by the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network.
The Quebec Green Party notes: “Tyrrell’s visit came amidst rising tensions between Canada and China, including unproven allegations of election interference, confrontational military posturing in the Taiwan Strait, and the passage of Canada’s Foreign Agents Registry Act, which Tyrrell described as ‘the modern Exclusion Act’ targeting Chinese Canadians. ‘This hysteria,’ he argued, ‘is building animosity towards China and preparing Canadians for conflict.’”
The party also noted that Tyrrell, who has led the PVQ since 2013, situated his visit within his party’s eco-socialist and anti-imperialist framework. “Canada has nothing to gain from provoking a war with China,” he said, adding that the PVQ supports diplomacy and cooperation over confrontation and sanctions. He sharply criticised the Green Party of Canada’s shift toward militarism. He also contrasted Canada’s aggressive posture with China’s record: “China hasn’t been involved in a military conflict for over 45 years,” he said, adding that its international development strategy – particularly in Africa – relies on shared infrastructure ownership, not regime change or military force.
Tyrrell’s trip spanned Beijing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai, including meetings with foreign ministry officials, artists, journalists, and students. While political conversations dominated his first days in Beijing, he also emphasised China’s extraordinary achievements in infrastructure and technology. Among the highlights here were:
- Fully automated shipping ports in Ningbo.
- Small affordable electric vehicles, some under $20,000.
- Wide bike lanes and massive fleets of public-use electric bikes and scooters.
- The world’s fastest commercial train – the Maglev – operating at 300 km/h.
- Refrigerator tech that quadruples produce shelf life via vacuum-sealed drawers.
He praised these advancements as models for Canada’s green transition, particularly criticising Ottawa’s 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and solar panels: “Canada is slowing down the energy transition for political reasons.”
Tyrrell did not shy away from addressing controversial topics but emphasised that many accusations – such as so-called “Chinese police stations” in Canada – are based on leaks rather than evidence. While refraining from taking a definitive stance on every issue, he expressed scepticism toward narratives pushed by Canadian media and intelligence agencies. He encouraged Canadians to question the double standards – particularly on genocide designations in Xinjiang versus Gaza. On Taiwan, he reiterated his party’s support for Canada’s official One China policy, warning that military provocations near the island could spark catastrophic conflict.
Asked what role the Green movement could play in improving Canada-China relations, Tyrrell drew a sharp contrast between his Quebec party and the federal Greens under Elizabeth May. “They’re echoing the politics of fear, militarism, and empire,” he said. “We need a complete 180 – and that includes replacing the current leadership… Right now, the Green Party of Canada is a huge embarrassment to the peace movement.”
Just prior to his visit, Tyrell was interviewed by prominent Canadian anti-imperialist Yves Engler on his Talking Foreign Policy podcast. He said that:
“The mainstream media has been continuously vilifying Chinese Canadians, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Chinese government. It’s important to push back on this anti-China narrative. Canada has gone from having a very pro-China policy to a very, very negative relationship with the People’s Republic of China.”
Tyrrell referenced his recent interview with Senator Yuen Pau Woo, who cautioned that the foreign agent registry law could have a chilling effect on Chinese Canadian political participation. Tyrrell called the bill “preoccupying” and noted that it “could potentially go as far as jailing people in Canada for participating in elections” due to vague language about associations with foreign entities.
More broadly, he asked: “What is Canada doing on the other side of the world sailing boats and challenging airspace in the Taiwan Strait?… It’s an aggressive move. It’s a provocation. China hasn’t been in a major military conflict for over four decades, while Canada has bombed Libya, invaded Afghanistan, and supported proxy wars from Ukraine to Yemen.”
He also described Canada’s role in the global energy transition as increasingly self-defeating. “We are slowing down our own energy transition to put pressure on China – it’s absurd.”
He emphasised that his intention is not to romanticise or excuse the Chinese government, but to engage critically, curiously, and constructively.
“I don’t have a holistic impression of what it’s like in the countryside or everywhere in China. But they’ve done a lot to lift people out of poverty. It’s an affordable place for average people to work and live. And we have to ask – what can Canada learn from that?”
Meanwhile, on July 3, the New Democratic Party (NDP) Socialist Caucus announced the nomination of Tyrell’s interviewer, Yves Engler, as its candidate for federal NDP leader, noting: “Engler brings to the contest a fearless commitment to global peace, democratic accountability, workers’ rights and socialism.”
This follows Canada’s April 28 federal election, in which the NDP, Canada’s main social democratic party, was rewarded for its sharp right wing turn by seeing its share of the popular vote reduced by two-thirds and winning just seven seats, five less than needed to secure official party status, this being the party’s worst-ever result – by both seat total and vote share – in its more than 60-year history. The resulting leadership contest will officially kick off this September and conclude at the party’s convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in March 2026.
In February this year, Engler was arrested in Montreal for criticising Israel, following accusations of harassment levelled by a pro-Israeli ‘influencer’, in a classic case of zionist ‘lawfare’.
Alex Tyrrell, who accompanied Engler to the police station, spoke to the Middle East Eye about the arrest:
“I think it’s a shocking attack on free expression and democratic rights and criticism of Israel in Canada – a country that’s supposed to be a free, democratic society. We’re supposed to speak out about a genocide.”
The Middle East Eye article also draws attention to other instances of repression against pro-Palestine, anti-genocide activists in Canada including:
“In December 2023, University of Ottawa medical resident and doctor Yipeng Ge faced criticism after posting pro-Palestinian content on social media and was suspended from his residency. He resigned from the Canadian Medical Association board of directors, citing ‘bullying, harassment, and intimidation.’”
According to his Linkedin profile: “Yipeng Ge is a Chinese-Canadian, first-generation immigrant [born in Wuhan], and a humble and grateful guest of this land.
“Yipeng is a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Public Health Association and Canadian Doctors for Medicare. Yipeng is passionate about tackling health and social inequities by addressing the social and broader determinants of health, including anti-racism work and practice in medical education. He was a member of the CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research) Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, tasked with helping to shape and develop CIHR’s anti-racism action plan.
“Yipeng has worked for various global health organisations including the World Health Organisation (Headquarters) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton, Ontario. He has also been involved in various student-led initiatives including, co-founding the McMaster Indigenous Health Conference in 2016 and chairing the Canadian Global Health Students and Young Professionals Summit in 2018. He was the first student/young professional co-chair for the 25th annual Canadian Conference on Global Health in 2019. In 2020, he was Canada’s official youth delegate to the 73rd World Health Assembly and the 58th Pan American Health Organisation Directing Council.”
He publishes the online Global Health Journal, which further states:
“In his clinical practice, he works in family medicine practice and refugee health at a community health centre. He received a Master of Public Health degree (Health and Social Behaviour) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has worked on and studied the structural and colonial determinants of health in both the settler colonial contexts of so-called Canada and occupied Palestine. He has been interviewed and appeared on CBC’s Power and Politics, CBC radio, Global News, TRT World, CP24, CTV, and Al Jazeera English.”
The following articles were originally published on the websites of the Parti Vert du Québec and the NDP Socialist Caucus.
We also embed below a video of the webinar hosted by the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, along with an introduction by Tyrell, from his You Tube channel, as well as a French language report back on his China visit on La Mentalité Verte – The Eco Mindset; his interview on the You Tube channel of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute prior to his China visit, conducted by Yves Engler; and an interview with Engler on why he is standing to be NDP leader on the You Tube channel of The Canada Files.
Alex Tyrrell’s Trip to China Sparks Dialogue on Peace, Technology, and Anti-China Hysteria
In a wide-ranging public webinar hosted by the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War and endorsed by the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network, Green Party of Quebec leader Alex Tyrrell delivered a detailed reportback from a recent 13-day trip to China organized and sponsored by the Chinese government. His presentation — attended by hundreds across Canada — offered a rare on-the-ground perspective on China’s development, technological innovations, and international diplomacy, while also challenging dominant Western narratives of hostility toward the country.
Tyrrell’s visit came amidst rising tensions between Canada and China, including unproven allegations of election interference, confrontational military posturing in the Taiwan Strait, and the passage of Canada’s Foreign Agents Registry Act, which Tyrrell described as “the modern Exclusion Act” targeting Chinese Canadians. “This hysteria,” he argued, “is building animosity towards China and preparing Canadians for conflict.”
Eco-Socialism and Anti-Imperialist Perspective
Tyrrell, who has led the PVQ since 2013, situated his visit within his party’s eco-socialist and anti-imperialist framework. “Canada has nothing to gain from provoking a war with China,” he said, adding that the PVQ supports diplomacy and cooperation over confrontation and sanctions. He sharply criticized the Green Party of Canada’s shift toward militarism, accusing it of endorsing “life sentences for associations” with foreign nationals and of “failing to be part of the solution.”
He also contrasted Canada’s aggressive posture with China’s record: “China hasn’t been involved in a military conflict for over 45 years,” he said, adding that its international development strategy — particularly in Africa — relies on shared infrastructure ownership, not regime change or military force.
Technological Impressions: From EVs to Maglev Trains
Tyrrell’s trip spanned Beijing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai, including meetings with foreign ministry officials, artists, journalists, and students. While political conversations dominated his first days in Beijing, he also emphasized China’s extraordinary achievements in infrastructure and technology.
Highlights included:
- Fully automated shipping ports in Ningbo.
- Small affordable electric vehicles, some under $20,000.
- Wide bike lanes and massive fleets of public-use electric bikes and scooters.
- The world’s fastest commercial train — the Maglev — operating at 300 km/h.
- Refrigerator tech that quadruples produce shelf life via vacuum-sealed drawers.
He praised these advancements as models for Canada’s green transition, particularly criticizing Ottawa’s 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and solar panels: “Canada is slowing down the energy transition for political reasons.”
Candid Political Discussion
Tyrrell did not shy away from addressing controversial topics, including the Uyghur situation, the detention of the “two Michaels,” and China’s death penalty. He emphasized that many accusations — such as so-called “Chinese police stations” in Canada — are based on leaks rather than evidence. “If a police force wants to make serious claims, they should do it in court.”
While refraining from taking a definitive stance on every issue, Tyrrell expressed skepticism toward narratives pushed by Canadian media and intelligence agencies. He encouraged Canadians to question the double standards — particularly on genocide designations in Xinjiang versus Gaza.
On Taiwan, he reiterated his party’s support for Canada’s official One China policy, warning that military provocations near the island could spark catastrophic conflict.
The Green Party Divide
Asked what role the Green movement could play in improving Canada-China relations, Tyrrell drew a sharp contrast between his Quebec party and the federal Greens under Elizabeth May. “They’re echoing the politics of fear, militarism, and empire,” he said. “We need a complete 180 — and that includes replacing the current leadership.”
He called for left-wing activists to “clean house” and reclaim the party from “eco-capitalist and NATO-aligned” influences. “Right now, the Green Party of Canada is a huge embarrassment to the peace movement.”
Broader Reflections
Throughout the webinar, Tyrrell emphasized the value of firsthand experience. He acknowledged that the trip was state-sponsored but stressed his transparency and the importance of dialogue over demonization. “We need to reduce the emissions of air travel — but diplomacy and understanding are not optional in a world teetering toward war.”
He concluded with a call for world peace to be listed as an explicit objective of Canada’s foreign policy. “We’re hurtling toward global conflict with blinders on,” he said. “Canada should be a voice for peace — not the spearhead of escalation.”
Alex Tyrrell Challenges Anti-China Narrative During Heated Election Campaign
As Canada’s political establishment increasingly embraces Cold War-style rhetoric toward China, Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec, is choosing a different path — one rooted in diplomacy, understanding, and environmental cooperation. This week, Tyrrell is traveling to China on a six-day visit organized by the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, where he will meet with foreign ministry officials, tour high-tech green infrastructure projects, and explore the country’s approach to sustainable development.
Speaking on the Talking Foreign Policy podcast with host Yves Engler, Tyrrell described the journey as an opportunity to “build some bridges” and directly counter what he called “mainstream hysteria” surrounding Chinese influence in Canada.
“In less than 24 hours, I’m going to be taking off for Beijing,” he said. “We’re going to have a tour of some high-tech facilities, look at environmental issues, conservation projects, and also meet with officials from the foreign ministry to hear their point of view on Canada-China relations.”
Tyrrell’s trip comes amid an intense wave of anti-China sentiment in Canadian politics, stoked by sensational media coverage and controversial legislation such as the new foreign agents registry. He warned that these developments risk marginalizing Chinese Canadians and distorting public understanding of Canada’s place in global affairs.
“The mainstream media has been continuously vilifying Chinese Canadians, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Chinese government,” Tyrrell explained. “It’s important to push back on this anti-China narrative. Canada has gone from having a very pro-China policy to a very, very negative relationship with the People’s Republic of China.”
Tyrrell referenced his recent interview with Senator Yuen Pau Woo, who cautioned that the foreign agent registry law could have a chilling effect on Chinese Canadian political participation. Tyrrell called the bill “preoccupying” and noted that it “could potentially go as far as jailing people in Canada for participating in elections” due to vague language about associations with foreign entities.
More broadly, Tyrrell argued that Canada has become a vehicle for U.S. geopolitical objectives, particularly in efforts to “contain China’s rise” through military posturing.
“What is Canada doing on the other side of the world sailing boats and challenging airspace in the Taiwan Strait?” he asked. “It’s an aggressive move. It’s a provocation. China hasn’t been in a major military conflict for over four decades, while Canada has bombed Libya, invaded Afghanistan, and supported proxy wars from Ukraine to Yemen.”
He contrasted China’s global posture with its domestic accomplishments, particularly in green technology and poverty alleviation. “They’re pumping out small electric vehicles for something like $15,000 Canadian. They’ve developed massive expertise in solar panel manufacturing, while Canada slapped a 100% tariff on both solar panels and electric vehicles coming from China — just to please Joe Biden.”
Tyrrell also described Canada’s role in the global energy transition as increasingly self-defeating. “We are slowing down our own energy transition to put pressure on China — it’s absurd.”
Asked about the broader goals of his trip, Tyrrell was clear: “I didn’t want to let the anti-China narrative impact my decision as to whether to go or not.”
He emphasized that his intention is not to romanticize or excuse the Chinese government, but to engage critically, curiously, and constructively.
“I don’t have a holistic impression of what it’s like in the countryside or everywhere in China. But they’ve done a lot to lift people out of poverty. It’s an affordable place for average people to work and live. And we have to ask — what can Canada learn from that?”
Tyrrell also didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Green Party of Canada, describing their foreign policy platform as “a complete disaster” and accusing co-leader Jonathan Pedneault of promoting “a fear-based campaign” to justify increased military spending.
“Pedneault presents himself as a human rights defender, but he’s done work in places where the West was looking to destabilize local governments — Libya, Ukraine, Venezuela. The federal Greens are preparing Canada for military conflict, and their stance toward China is deeply troubling.”
He added that both Green MPs voted in favor of the foreign agent registry and even proposed delaying the election to pass more “foreign interference” laws.
Tyrrell concluded by underscoring the importance of resisting fear-driven narratives and prioritizing diplomacy in global affairs.
“We have to be very vigilant. Anybody who’s trying to talk you into supporting war, confrontation, or hating people from another country — you have to question that very deeply.”
Tyrrell will document his visit and share insights from his meetings with Chinese officials and environmental innovators. He expressed hope that the trip will generate conversation not only about Canada-China relations but about Canada’s entire approach to global engagement.
“We need a Canada that stands for peace — not a Canada that goes around trying to start wars with other countries.”
NDP Socialist Caucus Nominates Montreal Author and Activist Yves Engler for NDP Leader
The New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus proudly announces the nomination of Yves Engler, a distinguished Montreal-based author and activist, as its candidate for federal NDP leader. Engler brings to the contest a fearless commitment to global peace, democratic accountability, workers’ rights and socialism.
The NDP Socialist Caucus will host an on-line media access event on Monday, July 7, at 11 AM Eastern Time where it will present Engler as its candidate for federal NDP leader. Those interested in participating can email info@ndpsocialists.ca to register and receive the Zoom link.
Born in Vancouver in 1979 to union-organizer parents who were deeply rooted in political activism, Engler learned early that social change demands hard work and struggle. Engler has authored thirteen critically acclaimed books—including Stand on Guard for Whom? A People’s History of the Canadian Military and Canada in Haiti: Waging War Against the Poor Majority—expanding the public’s understanding of Canada’s foreign policy and its impact on working people and oppressed communities.
Engler is founder of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and resides in Montreal with his partner, Bianca Mugyenyi, and their two children, and is fluent in French and English.
Engler embodies a robust, left-wing commitment to democratic socialism. He understands the necessity of structural transformation: affordable public housing, universal pharmacare, indigenous self-determination, closing tax havens used by the super-rich and fostering worker-owned cooperatives to further economic democracy. He also advocates for public ownership and democratic, workers’ control of critical sectors, including auto, banking, and public utilities, to ensure that public benefit, and not private profit, is central to Canada’s economy.
“Forty years of neo-liberal capitalist policies have led to radically increased inequality and homelessness, as well as a weakened working class and social welfare system,” says Engler. “It’s time for the NDP to take on unmitigated corporate power and fight for a democratic economy that puts workers first. We stand for the billions, not the billionaires.”
“Capitalism’s need for endless consumption is imperiling humanity’s long-term survival on this planet”, added Engler. “Canada’s most egregious contribution to the ecological crisis is Alberta’s ever growing tar sands, which must be quickly phased out.”
Engler’s critique of Canadian militarism stands at the forefront of his work and activism. In 2005, he poured symbolic fake blood onto Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew to condemn Canada’s role in Haiti’s 2004 coup and subsequent occupation—an action that garnered both widespread attention and provoked Canadian political scrutiny. In 2002 Engler was an elected vice president of the Concordia Student Union executive when Benjamin Netanyahu sought to speak at the university.
Engler has systematically dismantled the myth of Canada as benevolent peacekeeper, instead documenting through investigative work the ways Ottawa’s military and corporate interests align with those of Washington and US businesses, and have undermined peace globally. His leadership would position the NDP as a global voice for freedom and international solidarity.
“Yves Engler is exactly the leader Canada’s NDP needs: a fearless, principled, and unapologetically socialist,” said Socialist Caucus chair Barry Weisleder. “He represents everything we stand for—workers’ rights, democracy, peace, and environmental justice. We call on all NDP members who believe our party must return to its democratic socialist roots to support Yves Engler in this leadership race.”
Engler also emphasizes the deepening of NDP democracy—from policy development to candidate selection—ensuring that the party remains rooted in the communities it serves, not just broadcast from central party headquarters.
The Socialist Caucus endorses Engler because he embodies its enduring project: pushing the NDP away from corporate centrism toward its democratic socialist roots. Engler has repeatedly challenged party leadership—whether on Palestine, Canada’s complicity in Haiti, or fossil-fuel expansion—and urged rank-and-file members to reclaim the NDP from within. His campaign commits to reinvigorating neighbourhood associations, ratcheting up policy debate, and ensuring the party responds to and is managed by working people, not expensive public relations lobbyists.
As an ally of the labour movement, Engler has recognized that a revitalized NDP must prioritize pro-worker legislation: binding sectoral collective bargaining, stronger anti-scab laws, enforcement of pay equity, paid sick leave, and a real minimum wage indexed to inflation.
Under Yves Engler, an NDP government would champion:
1. Morally grounded, foreign policy based on solidarity — Ending Canada’s role in enabling Israel’s holocaust in Gaza, slashing military spending, curtailing arms sales and withdrawing Canadian troops from all international deployments with U.S. forces.
2. Economic democracy — Public ownership and democratic control of strategic industries, robust and well-funded public services (healthcare, childcare, eldercare), and recognition of unions as partners in economic planning.
3. Freedom of expression and civil rights — Protection for political speech, end government surveillance of peaceful activists, better restrain of the intelligence agencies and abolish Canada’s terror list.
4. Land back — An end to Canada’s dispossession of Indigenous peoples and an expansion of Indigenous jurisdiction.
5. Environmental stewardship — Just transition away from fossil fuels with retraining programs for workers. Drastically reducing Canada’s ecological footprint and shuttering the tar sands.
Praise for Engler has come from across progressive movements. Briarpatch Magazine called him “one of the most important voices on the Canadian Left.” Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Rick Salutin have praised his investigative rigor and principled stance.
The Socialist Caucus invites all New Democrats—especially those who feel their values are no longer reflected in the party—to unite behind Yves Engler’s leadership bid. It is time to build an NDP that challenges capitalism and imperialism while promoting de-colonization and economic democracy.
