Canada’s opposition leader is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fire the country’s ambassador in China over comments he made regarding the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to Canadian-Chinese media outlets on Tuesday.

Speaking with Canadian Chinese-language media in the Toronto suburb of Markham on Tuesday, John McCallum said Meng, whose arrest in Canada at the request of the United States has led to a bruising diplomatic showdown between Ottawa and Beijing, has a strong case to fight extradition.

The chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom giant, has "quite good arguments on her side," McCallum said.

"One, political involvement by comments from Donald Trump in her case. Two, there's an extraterritorial aspect to her case, and three, there's the issue of Iran sanctions which are involved in her case, and Canada does not sign on to these Iran sanctions,” McCallum said in his opening remarks at the press conference. “So I think she has some strong arguments that she can make before a judge."

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McCallum’s surprisingly candid remarks especially unusual since Canadian officials almost never comment on ongoing judicial cases for fear of appearing to undermine the jealously guarded judicial independence set off a firestorm in Ottawa.

"If I were Prime Minister, I would fire John McCallum," said Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics.

"If I were Prime Minister, I would fire John McCallum," says @AndrewScheer after @HonJohnMcCallum's comments that Huawei executive has 'quite good arguments on her side' #cdnpoli #scheer #MengWanzhou pic.twitter.com/O3YPyQBG4W

— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) January 23, 2019

'A country of the rule of law'

When asked to comment on McCallum’s comments on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped the question sticking to his earlier message that Canada is “a country of a rule of law.”

“We will make sure that the rule of law is properly and fully followed,” Trudeau told reporters during a press conference in La Loche, Saskatchewan. “That of course includes the opportunity for her to mount a strong defence. That is part of our justice system and we are going to apply that justice system in its integrity as all Canadians and indeed people around the world expect us to do as a country.”

Tit-for-tat actions

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has been released on bail and is living in one of her two mansions in Vancouver. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press/file)

Meng, who was arrested in Vancouver in December while changing planes, is wanted in the U.S. on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The 46-year-old daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei was released on bail by a Canadian court to await the results of extradition proceedings.

Meng’s case has drawn international attention and triggered a diplomatic row between Canada and China.

Days after Meng’s arrest, Chinese authorities detained Michael Kovrig, who took a leave of absence from Global Affairs Canada to work as the North East Asia analyst for the non-governmental think tank International Crisis Group, and Michael Spavor, a China-based Canadian entrepreneur.

Chinese officials say Canadians Michael Kovrig, right, and Michael Spavor were arrested for undermining Chinese 'national security,' while Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested 'illegally' in Canada upon U.S. request (Associated Press/ International Crisis Group/Canadian Press)

Then on Jan. 14, a Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death in a sudden retrial of a drug-smuggling case. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, had appealed his original 15-year sentence.

Schellenberg death sentence was seen by many in Canada...