After the US, now Canada plans to ban the use of Huawei & ZTE 5G equipment. On Thursday, Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that it plans to ban the use of these two brands for the sake of Canada's national security. The announcement comes as Canada is joining the rest of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.

"We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G networks," Champagne told reporters in Ottawa. "Providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it under the plans we're announcing today."

Champagne added that companies that will be required to remove their 5G gear by June 2024, would not be reimbursed. Companies using their 4G equipment must be removed by the end of 2027.

The decision - widely expected - had been delayed amid diplomatic tensions with China. The rest of the Five Eyes network - which consists of Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand - has already banned the equipment.

In September 2018, Canada first announced it would review the possible threats to national security in adopting Huawei equipment.

Then in December of the same year, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a U.S. warrant, creating a long-running dispute with China that finally ended last September with Meng's release.

After Meng's arrest, two Canadians were arrested by Beijing and accused of espionage. The two men were released the same day as Meng. read more

Now diplomatic tensions between China and Canada have eased somewhat. On Wednesday, China removed a three-year restriction on imports of Canadian canola seed, reversing what was considered a retaliatory move for Meng's arrest. read more

Thursday's decision comes after telecom companies in Canada already opted to use other companies' 5G hardware.