Canada announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics, athletes will still compete

Canada will proceed with a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, meaning government officials won’t attend but athletes can continue to compete.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement on Wednesday during a press conference alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge.

“We are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government. That is why we are announcing today that we will not be sending any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Olympic, Paralympic Games this winter,” Trudeau said.

“Our athletes have been training for years and are looking forward to compete at the highest level against athletes from around the world. They will continue to have all of our fullest support.”

The U.S. announced a diplomatic boycott on Monday as a means of protesting against human rights abuses in China towards the Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province.