Canadian Parliamentarians Welcome Shen Yun’s Return to Toronto; MP Condemns CCP’s Transnational Repression

Shen Yun Performing Arts will give five performances in Toronto between June 25–28, a rescheduling of shows canceled in late March and early April after a series of hoax bomb threats. Two members of the Canadian Parliament sent letters welcoming the return—one of them condemning the threats as part of a broader campaign of transnational repression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Shen Yun was founded by Falun Gong practitioners in New York in 2006 with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture free from Communist Party influence. Its performances now reach more than 200 cities and over a million audience members each year.

“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the successful rescheduling of your performance following the unfortunate disruptions caused by recent bomb threats,” James Bezan MP wrote in his greetings letter to Shen Yun. “The challenges you faced were undoubtedly difficult, yet your ability to continue your performances despite such obstacles demonstrates remarkable courage and commitment.”

Another MP, Kyle Seeback, issued a congratulatory letter to the Falun Dafa Association of Toronto, “Thank you to the Falun Dafa Association of Toronto for, once again, bringing the highly acclaimed Shen Yun to Toronto for Canadian audiences to enjoy.”

Condemning Transnational Repression

On March 29, a Shen Yun performance at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts was canceled after an email bomb threat prompted an evacuation shortly before the show began. Another threat email was sent to the theater on the following day. Both threats were identified as “unfounded” by Toronto police. Despite that, the theater decided to cancel all five of Shen Yun’s remaining performances between April 1–5.

The cancellations drew condemnation from across party lines in Canada. On April 20, the Falun Dafa Association of Canada testified before the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights, describing the threats as part of a broader CCP campaign of transnational repression combining disinformation, lawfare, hoax bomb threats, and other tactics. The Falun Dafa Information Center also submitted a written briefing to the hearing.

In his letter, Mr. Bezan condemned the CCP’s persecution and transnational repression against Falun Gong. He wrote, “Since 1999, practitioners of Falun Dafa have been subject to cruel and inhumane attacks and experienced many atrocities at the hands of the Chinese communist government. … These brutal crimes must be stopped now, the victims never forgotten and those responsible for this disgusting atrocity must be brought to justice.”

Legislative efforts to sanction perpetrators

Since 2024, Shen Yun has experienced a large number of bomb threats or death threats during its global tour, with many targeting the performance venues. To date, none of them has materialized. However, Toronto’s incident marked the first time a performance was canceled due to such hoax threats.

“Canada has important tools to respond to gross human rights violations. The Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) enables targeted sanctions against foreign officials responsible for serious abuses, including those involved in the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners,” Mr. Bezan wrote.

Mr. Bezan is the sponsor of Bill C-219, an ongoing bill that aims to strengthen Canada’s sanctions regimes against human rights abuses, through amendments that would add transnational repression as sanctionable conduct and increase penalties for perpetrators.

“Measures like these reflect Canada’s commitment to defending human dignity and standing firmly against exploitation and abuse,” Mr. Bezan added.