Opposition to Huawei 5G in Canada waning: poll

Opposition to Huawei telecommunications equipment being deployed in fifth generation wireless networks in Canada is waning, the latest polling showed Tuesday.

Washington has warned against allowing the Chinese tech giant to supply critical parts of 5G infrastructure on national security grounds. But, according to the Angus Reid Institute, only 56 percent of Canadians would support a ban, down from 69 percent at the end of 2019.

Ottawa -- in the throes of a diplomat row with Beijing on other issues -- has yet to announce a decision. Canada's electronic eavesdropping and spy agencies are reportedly split on the issue, while military leaders were said by the Globe and Mail on Monday to favor a ban.

In recent weeks, Britain and the EU set out rules allowing a limited 5G role for Huawei, but stopped short of barring the company from new communications networks designed for near-instantaneous data transfers. The US government considers Huawei a potential security threat due to the background of its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, a former Chinese army engineer.

The concern escalated as Huawei rose to become the world leader in telecoms networking equipment and one of the top smartphone manufacturers, and following Beijing's passage of a 2017 law obliging Chinese companies to assist the government in matters of national security.

Huawei has dismissed the security accusations and says Washington has provided no evidence. The US has said the possibility of China using its commercial presence to spy on US allies -- or even shut down a network -- could force Washington to stop sharing intelligence with its partners.

Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group. Meanwhile, Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou -- Ren's daughter -- is fighting extradition from Canada to the United States on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to American sanctions.

Her arrest on a US warrant during a flight stopover in Vancouver in December 2018 soured Canada-China relations. Nine days later, in apparent retaliation Beijing detained two Canadians -- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- and blocked Canadian agricultural shipments.