Canada is the latest country to ban Huawei, becoming the last of the so-called “Five Eyes” countries to do so.
Huawei has been widely accused of being a conduit for Beijing’s spying apparatus, leading the US and many of its allies to ban the company’s equipment from their 5G networks. The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprised of the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. While the other four countries had already banned Huawei, Canada has now joined the rest of the alliance in doing so.
As recently as early 2020, Canada was still undecided about what to do with Huawei, although the country made it clear it would not “get bullied by any other jurisdictions” into making a decision. Its stance began to soften in 2021, with officials indicating they might finally be ready to ban the Chinese firm.
According to CBC, the Canadian government has not only banned Huawei from participating in future 5G network build-outs, but providers must rip out existing Huawei 5G equipment by June 28, 2024. In addition, any Huawei 4G equipment must be removed by Dec. 31, 2027.
“This is the right decision and we are pleased to announce it today because it will secure our network for generations to come,” Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a news conference Thursday.
