Verdict expected in case of ex-Hydro-Québec employee accused of economic espionage

A Quebec Court judge is expected to rule today in the case of a former Hydro-Québec employee who is charged with carrying out economic espionage for the benefit of China.

Yuesheng Wang became the first person to be charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Security of Information Act after he was arrested in 2022.

The former researcher is accused of sharing proprietary research from Hydro-Québec with Chinese entities without permission.

The Crown also alleges that Wang, while he was working at the utility, submitted applications to Chinese universities under the framework of a recruitment tool used by the Chinese government to attract foreign-trained scientists to return to work in China.

Wang, a Chinese national and a resident of Candiac, Que., south of Montreal, has pleaded not guilty.

He testified in November that there was nothing nefarious about his interest in moving back to China, saying he was unhappy at work and concerned with visa issues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2026.