Canada continues to fund a controversial scholarship program for Chinese students, despite its requirement for applicants to pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its socialist system, according to the Epoch Times.

Pro-democracy advocates claim the program contravenes Canada’s democratic values and “plays into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party by enhancing its control over the Chinese people.”

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On July 30, David Morrison of Global Affairs Canada and Ma Zhaoxu of China renewed the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program, which funds Chinese scholars for research at Canadian universities. Beijing also offers scholarships for Canadians to study or research in China through the bilateral program.

Human rights lawyer David Matas believes requiring candidates to support CCP leadership endorses Chinese espionage, citing Beijing's National Intelligence Law that compels Chinese individuals and organizations to assist state information-gathering.

Canada stopped funding research collaborations with Chinese entities linked to military, national defence, or state security in 2023 due to national security concerns after Canadian universities collaborated with a top Chinese military institution on projects in quantum cryptography, photonics, and space science.

Administered by the China Scholarship Council and the Canadian Embassy in China, these scholarships require Chinese applicants to support the Communist Party’s leadership, as reported by the Epoch Times last year.

Conservative MP Michael Chong criticized taxpayer funding for the CCP as an "unacceptable" misuse of public money, following the April 2024 Epoch Times report. 

China's 200-plus global talent recruitment programs, including the 2008 Thousand Talents Plan, aim to attract leading scientists to aid Chinese economic and military development.

Declassified federal documents revealed that two Chinese scientists, Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng, fired from Canada's top-security National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, lied about their involvement in Chinese talent programs, including the TTP, raising security concerns about China's talent initiatives.

Established in 1973 by Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Zhou Enlai, the Canada-China Scholars' Exchange Program is Canada's longest-running bilateral scholarship, fostering mutual understanding, academic collaboration, and cultural exchange.

The program offers scholarships to Chinese academic staff, master's or doctoral graduates, and non-academics in "senior professional posts" (e.g., judges, broadcasters, economists) to study Canadian social sciences and humanities.

Canada funds living and medical costs for Chinese applicants, while China funds their travel via its National Study Abroad Fund. For Canadian applicants, the reverse is true.