China announced Tuesday the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat in retaliation for an order from Ottawa forcing a Chinese consular official to leave the country due to alleged threats made against a Canadian lawmaker and his family.

Beijing has applied a “reciprocal countermeasure to Canada’s villainous initiative”, which it “strongly opposes”, explained the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lynn Lalonde, Canada’s top diplomatic representative in the Shanghai business hub, has been asked to leave the country by May 13, she added, noting that China “reserves the right to take any other measures in response”.

The Canadian Embassy in Beijing had no immediate comment on the deportation.

Canada said earlier on Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had expelled a Chinese diplomat who the Canadian spy agency said was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition MP and his family in Hong Kong. Kong.

China took control of the former British colony in 1997 and in recent years has broken a de facto agreement to maintain its political and civil rights for 50 years by undermining its democratic institutions and freedom of the press. Beijing often threatens family members to intimidate critics from the Chinese diaspora, especially those from minorities.

A senior Canadian government official said diplomat Zhao Wei, who was in Toronto, had five days to leave the country. It was not immediately clear if Zhao was still in Canada.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement that the country had declared Zhao “persona non grata” and would “not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs.”

“Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior they will be sent home,” he said.

The Canadian spy agency said conservative opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong were attacked in 2021 after Chong criticized Beijing’s human rights record. The ministry did not release further details.