A Manitoba rural municipality has installed dozens of surveillance cameras manufactured by a partly Chinese state-owned company, despite the federal government banning the firm from operating in Canada over national security risks.
Last month, The Rural Municipality of West St. Paul, just north of Winnipeg, said in a social media post it had installed five cameras around the community facing playgrounds, parks and residential streets, as part of the rural municipality’s efforts to improve safety and security.
“These installations are one of the ways we are continuing to work with residents and community partners to help keep West St. Paul a safe place to live and work,” it said in the Oct. 2 post.
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The municipality of West St. Paul is using cameras manufactured by Chinese company Hikvision. The company has been banned from operating in Canada.
The new cameras, manufactured by Chinese company Hikvision, bring the total from the brand up to 33 across the rural municipality’s network of 49 cameras, according to West St. Paul administration. The municipality has used security cameras to deter crime since 2014.
Hikvision, one of the world’s largest surveillance equipment manufacturers, is partly owned by the Chinese government through the China Electronics and Technology Group, according to documents filed in Federal Court.
Experts say the Chinese cameras across West St. Paul infringe on peoples’ freedom of expression and leave the rural municipality and its infrastructure vulnerable to foreign actors searching for data on Canadian communities.
The controversy surrounding the company extends beyond Canada’s borders. Human rights groups have alleged Hikvision has monitored Uyghur Muslims in western China and installed cameras at internment camps targeting the group throughout the region.
Ottawa ordered the firm’s Canadian subsidiary to stop operating in the country in June 2025 because it was deemed a national security risk.
The federal government also banned the cameras from all department and Crown corporation buildings. While the ban doesn’t extend to provincial or municipal governments and purchasing the cameras isn’t illegal, Ottawa has encouraged Canadians to reconsider using the equipment.
The decision follows one made by the United States, which also deemed Hikvision video surveillance equipment a national security risk in 2021.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced the federal government’s decision in a post on X last year.
“The government has determined that Hikvision Canada Inc.’s continued operations in Canada would be injurious to Canada’s national security,” Joly said in the post dated June 27, 2025.
She said she “strongly” encourages Canadians to “take note of this decision and make their own decisions accordingly.” The post didn’t provide any further details on what threat the company poses.
“The intent is to bring this matter forward to newly elected mayor and council for discussion and review.”
In an email statement, West St. Paul chief administrative officer Jeffrey Simpson said he learned about the federal ban from the Free Press.
“We thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. The intent is to bring this matter forward to newly elected mayor and council for discussion and review,” he said.
The rural municipality contracts TEC Video Security Inc., located about 15 kilometres south of Winnipeg in La Salle to monitor its hardware, Simpson said.
Municipal officials, such as department heads, have access to the video feeds but review it only when investigating complaints or illegal activities, he said.
None of the cameras use AI facial or pattern recognition software, Simpson noted.
West St. Paul should follow the federal government’s lead and avoid using the cameras, said security consultant Andrew Kirsch, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service officer.
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A sign by the side of Allenford Drive alerts community members to the presence of surveillance cameras.
Hikvision cameras are an inexpensive option for municipal governments and businesses on tight procurement budgets, he said. But the cameras’ competitive price is partly a result of the Chinese government’s influence in the company and production subsidies.
“The important thing to remember when you make any security decisions is that there are often broader considerations, which is the security of the tools you have, and why things are cheaper. You can end up paying in the long run in many different ways if you’re not sensitive to other vulnerabilities,” Kirsch said from his Toronto office.
He said while a Manitoba rural municipality might not be a target for foreign actors, security cameras set up near any municipal property, such as water-treatment facilities and electrical and road infrastructure, collect large amounts of data that could be leveraged by hostile states, including China.
There are risks the Chinese government could use back-door access software within the cameras to co-opt the feeds, he added said.
Municipalities must also have robust security protocols when security cameras are installed in public spaces because the information, if not secure, could result in people using login credentials for “malicious purposes,” he said.
Scott Thompson, a sociology professor who studies surveillance at the University of Saskatchewan, echoed those concerns.
He cited allegations of Chinese “police stations” in this country and the identification of an pressure applied to dissidents within Canada as one risk posed by the cameras, particularly if they’re accessible by foreign governments.
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West St. Paul has been using security cameras since 2014 and last month announced five new cameras in playgrounds, parks and residential areas.
In 2022 and 2023, the RCMP launched multiple investigations into such intimidation tactics in Toronto and Montreal.
Thompson also argued placing the cameras around public spaces, such as playgrounds and residential areas, limits freedom of expression, as it casts suspicion on anyone within view.
Costs can soar when maintaining security cameras, which rarely prevent crimes, because the long hours of footage require significant data storage and security infrastructure, depending on its quality, Thompson said.
“Cameras are an extremely expensive solution to the types of problems of public safety that people might think can be easy to solve,” he said.
Hikvision Canada Inc. and parent company Hikvision has disputed the federal ban and maintains its cameras do not pose any security risks.
In July 2025, after the federal government ordered the company to end operations, Hikvision Canada challenged the decision in Federal Court.
But in April, both the company and the federal government agreed to discontinue the appeal, according to court records.
“At this time, Hikvision Canada is not in a position to comment on the specifics of the legal proceedings. The existing court submissions accurately reflect the company’s stance that there is no evidence that our products or operations pose a national security risk in Canada. We continue to expect a fair and transparent environment for all businesses and investors in the country,” a spokesperson for Hikvision Canada said in an email statement.
A spokesperson for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, confirmed the judicial review has been suspended, but couldn’t provide further comment due to confidential information protected under the Investment Canada Act.
— with files from The Canadian Press
matthew.frank@winnipegfreepress.com
Matthew Frank is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. He joined the newsroom in September 2026. Matthew has also worked as a reporter for The Carillon in southeastern Manitoba and as a Toronto-based national reporter for The Globe and Mail. Read more about Matthew.
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