You have to hand it to the Chinese. They know exactly where to position the blade in the Achilles heel of Canadian politics.

Their latest provocation — the ludicrous allegation that canola grown on the western prairies is being dumped into the Chinese market — puts $5 billion in canola exports in jeopardy.

It’s a masterstroke by Beijing: Set Ottawa’s protection of a so-called burgeoning electric vehicle market in eastern Canada at cross-purposes with canola producers farming the western prairies. Then sit back and watch the partisan sparks. That the NDP has just ripped up its deal with the governing Liberals makes the political tinder even more susceptible to ignition.