China has accused Canada of “slander and defamation” after it said Beijing targeted a member of its parliament and his family.
On Friday, China said the allegation that it attempted to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong over his anti-China stance was “nonsense”.
Mr Chong, 51, previously accused China of human rights abuses.
Canada is considering expelling Chinese diplomats over the issue and summoned its ambassador on Thursday.
It follows a Canadian intelligence report that first emerged in the Globe and Mail newspaper, which said Canada’s spy agency believes China sought details about Mr Chong’s relatives in Hong Kong in an effort to deter “anti-China positions”.
The politician put forward a motion in parliament in 2021 that declared China’s treatment of its Uighur minority population a genocide. China has denied the accusations and sanctioned Mr Chong shortly after.
