(LifeSiteNews) – Canada has expelled a Chinese diplomat implicated in a spying scandal involving Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family only days after the Canadian embassy for Communist China issued a veiled threat that the country will “play along” until the “very end” should its representative be expelled.

This afternoon, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly issued a statement saying Zhao Wei is a persona non grata, and he has now been ordered to leave Canada.

“I have been clear: will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” Joly said in a statement she posted on Twitter.

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

“This decision has been taken after careful consideration of all factors at play. We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance.”

Last Thursday, Joly said that she had summoned Ambassador Cong Peiwu in light of a harassment scandal involving Chong, whose family was the target of a Chinese diplomat Wei.

Joly said that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was considering whether or not to expel Wei.

“I think it’s important Canadians know what we’ve learned from the two Michaels experiences is that, of course, China and the PRC (People’s Republic of China) will take action. These interests, including economic interests, consular interests, and also diplomatic interests, will be affected,” Joly said.

Joly said that what happened to Chong was “completely unacceptable” and then claimed the federal government takes the situation “extremely seriously.”

“You have all heard me say — and I’ve said it directly to my Chinese counterpart — that we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference, not in our democracy, not in our internal affairs, full stop,” she said.

“I have made my expectations clear. All foreign agents in Canada must abide by the Vienna Convention. If they do not, there will be consequences.”

As for China, its embassy in Ottawa in a statement said that “Should the Canadian side continue to make provocations, China will play along every step of the way until the very end.”

Last Tuesday, Chong was finally told by Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that he and his family were the targets of a spying and intimidation tactic campaign by Wei, an agent of the CCP. CSIS head David Vigneault confirmed with Chong in an in-person meeting in Ottawa that the spying came about because the MP supported a motion in parliament in 2021 that condemned the CCP’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide.

A CSIS report, dated July 20, 2021, shows that the CCP’s own intelligence agency, Ministry of State Security (MSS), “has taken specific actions to target Canadian MPs” who in February 2021 voted for a motion that condemned China’s oppression of Uyghurs and other minorities, calling them an act of genocide.

The Chinese embassy said that Canada was trying to “attempt to make political gains and draw attention, driven by ideological bias, some Canadian politicians and media have been manipulating China-related issues, attacking and discrediting China.”

Last Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that the allegations against Chong are “complete nonsense” and stated vowed measures would be taken to secure China’s interests.

Chong had demanded that Trudeau expel Wei.

The Chinse Ottawa embassy, however, has protested that such an action to expel its diplomat, as Peiwu said, would be a bad idea.

The embassy said it “strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately stop this self-directed political farce and not go further down the wrong and dangerous path.”

Last week, Chong revealed to the House of Commons that staff from Trudeau’s Privy Council Office (PCO) knew two years ago his family was the targets of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intimidation tactics.

“Mr. Speaker, I’ve just been informed by the national security adviser that the CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) Intelligent Assessment of July 20th, 2021, was sent by CSIS to the relevant departments and to the National Security Advisor in the PCO,” Chong said.

The bombshell revelation came despite the fact Trudeau on Wednesday claimed he did not know about the spying incident. Trudeau instead shifted the blame for Chong being in the dark by saying that CSIS is responsible for notifying MPs when they are spied on. He also claimed he did not know about the spying incident.

Trudeau then said that CSIS did not send the top-secret report about Chong up the chain of command, because the agency felt it “wasn’t a significant enough concern” and did not meet a “threshold that required them to pass it up.”

Last week, LifeSiteNews reported on a highly confidential document from Canada’s top intelligence agency that warned the CCP thinks of Canada as a “high-priority target.” The same report also said the CCP is the “foremost perpetrator” of foreign interference in the nation, and then noted how the regime has targeted Chong’s family.

The bombshell revelations come via a top-secret, nine-page report from the Intelligence Assessment Branch of the CSIS as reported by the Globe and Mail on Monday. The newspaper was privy to the documents via an anonymous source that were produced just before the start of the 2021 federal election.

Opposition parties, notably the CPC, have been for weeks demanding that Trudeau launch a full independent public inquiry into the Chinese election meddling scandal.

To date, Trudeau has denied that he was involved with the foundation’s work.

However, he recently appointed former governor general David Johnston as an “independent special rapporteur” to investigate the allegations.

Johnston was listed as a member of the Foundation, but after the scandal broke, his name disappeared from its website.