On Tuesday's Rebel Roundup, hosts Lise Merle and Scarlett Grace went through what Prime Minister Mark Carney said about China at a Montreal press conference.

"In terms of the security risks of our partnership, they are much, much, much, much less than the security risks, for example, of the United States," Carney said. He is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week. Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie posted video of the remark on X.

Lise took the remark to mean the prime minister was calling the United States far more dangerous to Canada than China's Communist government. Carney's wording leaves room for another reading. The Globe and Mail corrected an earlier version of its story that had him ranking the U.S. above China as a security risk, and now reports he said countries such as the United States face worse risks from China than Canada does.

Scarlett said Carney "knows exactly how it's going to land" in Washington. "It's not good for us," she said. "Our neighbours are our greatest allies."

The hosts then turned to China's vice premier, He Lifeng, who was in Vancouver on Monday. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu hosted him, and the two countries agreed to deepen co-operation between their financial sectors.

Go Ad Free

In a clip played on the show, He said the sides discussed extending tariff exemptions, quotas for electric vehicles and more direct flights, and that China will sell a sovereign green bond in Canada. China's Ministry of Finance has put the offering at up to four billion yuan, about US$600 million. Lise asked whether it sounded like Canada was in charge, or whether China was dictating the terms.

Sidhu was also shown saying B.C.'s coast gives Canada "efficient and competitive supply routes for Canadian oil, LNG, and LPG" to Asian markets such as China's. Lise asked how the oil would reach the coast "without a pipeline in the ground."

Scarlett pointed to her own reporting on alleged Chinese police stations in Canada, which now number 18, up from five.

Champagne described China as a willing buyer that provides scale and Canada as "a willing seller" that provides trust.

He also announced a memorandum of understanding between the two countries' finance ministries on fiscal and economic issues. Scarlett said the trust line stood out to her most, and questioned what trust Canada is selling given the Liberals' 11 years in power. Lise said she thinks Champagne "is going to regret that."