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Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were detained in China for more than 1,000 days, accused of espionage. They returned to Canada on Sept. 24, 2021

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A woman walks by the Just for Laughs festival at the Quartier du Spectacle, Friday, July 16, 2021 in Montreal.
Ottawa’s support of two Michaels does not mean either engaged in espionage, Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back on the notion that Canada's willingness to help two men who were detained in China is an acknowledgement they engaged in espionage on Ottawa's behalf. Michael Spavor, centre left, and Michael Kovrig, centre left, receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons prior to U.S. President Joe Biden's address of Parliament, in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Morning Update: Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa for Chinese imprisonment
Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa for Chinese imprisonment
Evening Update: Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa; Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady
Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, talks during a Skype interview in Yanji, China, in a still image made from a March 2, 2017, video.

The two Michaels: Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor

Latest news and analysis about Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig

canada
Which Canadian festival is cancelling its 2024 edition? Take our news quiz
A woman walks by the Just for Laughs festival at the Quartier du Spectacle, Friday, July 16, 2021 in Montreal.
politics
Ottawa’s support of two Michaels does not mean either engaged in espionage, Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back on the notion that Canada's willingness to help two men who were detained in China is an acknowledgement they engaged in espionage on Ottawa's behalf. Michael Spavor, centre left, and Michael Kovrig, centre left, receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons prior to U.S. President Joe Biden's address of Parliament, in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
canada
Morning Update: Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa for Chinese imprisonment
politics
Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa for Chinese imprisonment
canada
Evening Update: Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa; Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady
Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, talks during a Skype interview in Yanji, China, in a still image made from a March 2, 2017, video.
canada
Morning Update: ‘You aimed at my eyes, but my heart is still beating’: Blinded Iranian protesters show the brutality of the country’s regime
Mohammad, Mersedeh and Yaser were deliberately blinded by Iranian security forces during anti-regime protests.
politics
Michael Kovrig lends support to ex-RCMP intelligence official found guilty of sharing secrets
A judge is expected to hear sharply differing arguments about the punishment he should hand to former RCMP intelligence official Cameron Jay Ortis. Cameron Jay Ortis, a former RCMP intelligence official charged with breaching Canada's secrets law, arrives for his trial at the courthouse in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
politics
Michael Kovrig hopes Ottawa settlement will cover lost income, could donate some to charity
Michael Kovrig, a Canadian formerly detained in China, is calling on governments to have co-ordinated sanctions and travel bans on states who arrest foreigners for political reasons, through an effort Canada is co-leading to stop countries from feeling emboldened. Michael Spavor, centre left, and Kovrig, centre left, receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons prior to U.S. President Joe Biden's address of Parliament, in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
politics
Ottawa ready to pay financial settlements to the two Michaels over their ordeal in Chinese prisons
Canadians Michael Kovrig, right, and Michael Spavor, left, stand as they are recognized before an address from U.S. President Joe Biden in the Canadian House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Canada, Mach 24, 2023. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS
canada
Morning Update: Watchdog rebukes diplomatic intelligence-collection program for lack of safeguards and oversight
Michael Spavor, centre left, and Michael Kovrig, centre left, receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons prior to U.S. President Joe Biden's address of Parliament, in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
politics
Global Affairs unit ran afoul of Vienna Convention, national-security watchdog review finds
Global Affairs Canada's headquarters at the Lester B. Pearson Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa is shown, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Justin Tang for The Globe and Mail)
opinion
Canada’s controversial diplomatic reporting program must be preserved
Adnan R. Khan
canada
Evening Update: Hamas releases 24 hostages as truce with Israel takes hold in Gaza
The face of the newly released hostage, Peri Chana, 79, is projected onto the wall outside The Museum of Modern Art known as the 'The Hostages and Missing Square' on November 24, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
canada
Morning Update: Watchdog report on Global Affairs unit named in Michael Spavor’s case still unreleased three years after its completion
FILE PHOTO: People hold signs calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig during an extradition hearing for Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
opinion
Michael Spavor’s accusations are playing into Beijing’s hands
Peter Humphrey
politics
Watchdog report on Global Affairs unit named in Michael Spavor’s case still unreleased three years after its completion
People hold placards calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig outside a court hearing for Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
canada
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Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland responds to a question from the Opposition after she delivered the 2023 Fall Economic Statement in the House of Commons, Tuesday, November 21, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
opinion
When is a spy not a spy?
Peter Jones, Alan Jones and Laurie Storsater
opinion
More than anything, Michael Spavor was the victim of a coercive Beijing
Guy Saint-Jacques
politics
Canadian met with Global Affairs unit linked to two Michaels’ imprisonment before being detained by China in 2014
Kevin Garratt and his wife Julia pose for a portrait in the backyard of a home they're staying at after recently returning to Canada. The couple were doing Christian charity work in China near the North Korean border when they were detained by police and had been accused by Chinese authorities of stealing military and defence research secrets and charged with espionage. Kevin would spend almost two years in custody before being deported. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)
canada
Morning Update: Ottawa faces calls to strengthen oversight of Global Affairs unit that collects intelligence
FILE PHOTO: People hold signs calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig during an extradition hearing for Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
politics
Global Affairs faces calls for oversight after Michael Spavor’s allegations
FILE PHOTO: People hold signs calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig during an extradition hearing for Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
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A new twist in the two Michaels saga
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canada
Evening Update: China defends prosecution of Kovrig and Spavor; premature babies in Gaza evacuated to Egypt
Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor stand as they are recognized before President Joe Biden speaks to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, Canada, Friday, Mach 24, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)
canada
Morning Update: China decries Canada’s ‘hypocrisy’ after Spavor blames Kovrig for their detention
Michael Kovrig, a Canadian formerly detained in China, is calling on governments to have co-ordinated sanctions and travel bans on states who arrest foreigners for political reasons, through an effort Canada is co-leading to stop countries from feeling emboldened. Michael Spavor, centre left, and Kovrig, centre left, receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons prior to U.S. President Joe Biden's address of Parliament, in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
world
China decries Canada’s ‘hypocrisy’ after Spavor blames Kovrig for their detention
Canadians Michael Kovrig, right, and Michael Spavor, left, stand as they are recognized before an address from U.S. President Joe Biden in the Canadian House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Canada, Mach 24, 2023. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS
explainer
From the archives: What we know about Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig’s time in China
NW-NA-MICHAELS-1117 Murat Yükselir
canada
Spavor blames fellow prisoner Kovrig for Chinese detention, alleges he was used for intelligence gathering
Photo Illustration by the Globe and Mail/THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/AFP PHOTO / CRISISGROUP/JULIE DAVID DE LOSS
world
Canadians in China shrug off diplomatic spat, but fear worsening business environment
A security guard walks at the Canada's Consulate General, in Shanghai, China, May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song
world
China’s sweeping new anti-espionage law will make it easier to arrest foreigners
In this photo provided by the Dong family, Dong Yuyu stands at the gates of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass in May 2017. A veteran Chinese journalist who worked at a ruling Communist Party-affiliated newspaper and was a Harvard University fellow faces espionage charges after he was detained while meeting with a Japanese diplomat in a restaurant, his family said Monday. (Dong Family via AP)
canada
Michael Spavor breaks his silence after detention in China: ‘I’m overjoyed’
opinion
From one hostage to another: Advice to Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor
John McCarthy
world
Which Canadians are left in Chinese prisons? As Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are free, 115 more remain behind
politics
Homecoming of Michael Spavor, Michael Kovrig a welcome relief for Canada, but China rift runs deep after their detention
politics
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor: After 1,020 days imprisoned in China, the two detainees arrive home in Canada
world
Chinese newspaper claims Michael Spavor photographed Chinese military equipment