Ex-hydro researcher tells spying trial he wasn’t given opportunity to defend himself

By Canadian Press on November 5, 2025.

MONTREAL — A former researcher with Quebec’s hydro utility says he had no idea he was under a criminal investigation until he was arrested by the RCMP in 2022.

The Crown accuses Yuesheng Wang, 38, of sharing confidential research from Hydro-Québec with Chinese entities in commercializing battery technologies.

Testifying for a second day in Quebec court, Wang said he wasn’t given any explanation by his superiors before he was suspended in August 2022 and fired in November of that year.

Hydro officials launched an internal probe over a scientific publication by Wang that came to light in May 2022, which was escalated to the RCMP.

Wang has pleaded not guilty to economic espionage under Canada’s Security of Information Act and to four other charges filed in 2022 and 2024 under the Criminal Code.

He rejected the accusation that he hid his collaboration with Chinese institutions, saying Hydro-Québec had consented to his work and that the alleged non-disclosure would have been a violation of basic scientific ethics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025.

The Canadian Press