A military veteran who spent 20 years in uniform, Lieutenant Colonel Huajie Xu now lives on a quiet street in Winnipeg.
But he did not serve in Canada’s armed forces.
Instead, he was a member of China’s People’s Liberation Army, according to records obtained by Global News.
Before arriving in Canada in 2021, Xu worked at the military academy of the Chinese cyber warfare department that hacks Canadians and steals their secrets.
Chinese state-sponsored cyber attacks have targeted Canadian companies, activists and government agencies.
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Hundreds of pages of records filed in court indicate that Xu joined the PLA in 1998 and became a member of the Chinese Communist Party in 2001.
He earned a degree in Infantry Command from Jinan Army College, and a Masters in Military Education Training from the PLAIEU.
Between 2011 and 2013, Xu was trained by the Russian military in Moscow. Upon returning to China, he became an instructor at the PLAIEU until retiring in 2018.
In 2021, he applied to immigrate to Canada. Despite acknowledging his military career in his application form, he was accepted as a permanent resident.
Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Canada declined to answer when asked by Global News why it had approved Xu as an immigrant.
Terry Glavin: This guy got permanent resident status before he even set foot in Canada.