A performance group that celebrates pre-communist China wants the Federal Court to review the National Arts Centre’s decision to end its 17-year run.
In a document filed with the Federal Court, the Shen Yun dance group has raised concerns about possible foreign interference in the NAC’s decision, highlighting a meeting between the institution’s leadership and Chinese officials before the decision not to rent space to the group for its 2026 performance.
The annual performance is connected to Falun Gong, a spiritual practice based in New York facing persecution from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It bills itself as a “revival of the beauty and goodness of China before communism.”
Its staging has long drawn the ire of the PRC. Through its consulates, Beijing has called the Shen Yun shows “anti-China propaganda.”
The Shen Yun performance had an almost uninterrupted run at the NAC since 2005, before organizers say the institution put a halt to their shows.
In a court filing obtained by Global News, the Falun Dafa Association of Ottawa highlighted interactions between NAC officials and the Chinese consulate, including Ambassador Wang Di, leading up to that decision.
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The application, which has not been tested in court, alleged that those relationships and the “abrupt” reversal of the NAC on Shen Yun create a “serious and reasonable inference that foreign-state influence, diplomatic cultivation or a desire to accommodate Chinese-state interests may have materially affected the decision-making process.”
Carl Martin, a spokesperson for the NAC, said the organization will not be commenting on the application while it is before the courts.
The Ottawa dispute is not the first time Shen Yun’s performances have come under pressure in Canada. Citing unnamed sources, Global News reported in May that representatives from China’s consulate in Vancouver told city staff that they wanted them stopped.
The event went ahead in April at the city-owned Queen Elizabeth Theatre, despite bomb threats.
Shen Yun performed in Toronto on March 28, but subsequent shows were cancelled after more threats of violence.
The threat, sent by email, indicated explosives had been planted inside the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts, as well as on Parliament Hill — just steps from the NAC. The same email account followed up the next day, warning that gunmen planned to enter the theatre disguised as audience members and open fire.
Toronto police told Global News the threats “were determined to be unfounded,” but the venue’s owner cancelled the remaining performances “out of an abundance of caution.”
Shen Yun performances were also cancelled at Montreal’s Place des Arts in 2026, according to media reports.
Shen Yun came under scrutiny in 2024 after the New York Times released a story alleging performers were subjected to abuse and discouraged from seeking medical treatment. Shen Yun and Falun Gong have denied the allegations.
The court filing suggests the NAC raised questions about the New York labour investigation in February 2025, calling the allegations serious and requesting information about how performers were being protected. The Falun Dafa organization said it complied with the NAC’s request in writing.
The filing stated that the NAC told Shen Yun in June 2025 that it would not rent space for the group’s 2026 performance, and later raised several other concerns, including security costs, declining ticket sales, date availability and “adverse media coverage and associated reputational concerns.”
The court filing also details several interactions between NAC officials and representatives from China’s consulate in Ottawa in the years leading up to the decision, including an October 2024 private dinner at the ambassador’s residence.
The filing suggested the NAC’s board found nothing “unusual” about interactions between NAC leadership and foreign embassy representatives, and that such engagement falls within the NAC’s mandate.
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