Ottawa, Canada: Sikyong Penpa Tsering held a series of high-level engagements in Ottawa, aimed at strengthening international solidarity and mobilising support for the Tibetan cause.

The visit included a number of impactful meetings with members of the Canadian Parliament, civil society representatives, and scholars, during which Sikyong underscored the urgent need for the global community to take a firm stand against the People’s Republic of China’s interference in Tibetan religious traditions, especially concerning the process of the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

In one of the key political engagements, Sikyong was received by MP James Maloney, Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, who hosted a luncheon that brought together several Members of Parliament including MP Elizabeth May, MP Terry Sheehan, MP Yvan Baker, and MP Karim Bardeesy. These discussions were focused on building stronger cross-party parliamentary support for Tibet-related initiatives in Canada.

Sikyong also met with the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, and MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, followed by a dinner meeting to further deliberate on the role of democratic institutions in safeguarding Tibetan religious and cultural identity.

In addition to his parliamentary meetings, Sikyong also held constructive dialogues with officials from Global Affairs Canada and leading figures in Canadian media and think tanks. These included investigative journalist Sam Cooper, The Globe and Mail’s Steven Chase, Dean Baxendale of Optimum Publishing International, and Dr. Charles Burton, a leading China analyst and senior advisor to the Canada Tibet Committee.

To highlight grassroots support for Tibet, Sikyong also met with members of the Ottawa Friends of Tibet. The meeting included its founder, Jurme Wangda, Dawa Bhuti Ghoso, Dean Ward and family, all of whom have been long-standing supporters of the Tibetan cause in Canada.

A major component of the visit was a press conference where Sikyong raised serious concerns regarding China’s colonial-style boarding school system in Tibet. He condemned the policy that has reportedly led to the separation of over a million Tibetan children from their families, describing it as a calculated attempt to erase Tibetan language, culture, and identity.

Sikyong will also held a meeting with MP Garnett Genuis, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet and a long-time friend of the Tibetan people, to discuss future parliamentary strategies and ways to strengthen collaborative efforts in support of Tibet, including motions on religious freedom and human rights in the House of Commons.

Throughout the visit, Sikyong emphasised the importance of coordinated international responses, particularly within multilateral frameworks such as the G7 and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. He reiterated that the succession of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is an exclusively Tibetan spiritual matter and any external interference must be firmly opposed by the international community.

Sikyong was accompanied during the visit by Representative Dr. Namgyal Choedup, Office of Tibet, Washington DC; Sherap Therchin, Executive Director of the Canada Tibet Committee. They were later joined by Tencho Gyatso, President of the International Campaign for Tibet, and Secretary Jigme Namgyal, Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration.