MONTREAL — A former researcher with Quebec’s hydro utility who is facing economic espionage charges says he was applying for work at universities in China because he was unhappy at Hydro-Québec.
Yuesheng Wang maintained under cross-examination in court today that there was nothing nefarious about his interest in moving back to China.
He explained that it was tied to Hydro-Québec’s unwillingness to extend his work visa long-term and his limited French and English.
The Crown alleges Wang used proprietary research at Hydro-Québec without permission, but he says he did not disclose any confidential secrets.
Wang, 38, says the Chinese universities offered him unique opportunities such as a full professorship with considerable research resources and funding.
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.
Wang has described a difficult work environment at the Hydro-linked research facility where he worked and that he became the subject of an internal probe in May 2022 but wasn’t given specifics or offered a chance to defend his reputation before being fired.
The utility called in the RCMP to investigate and the Crown laid charges two weeks after he was fired in November 2022.
Wang’s trial is wrapping up this week before Quebec court Judge Jean-Philippe Marcoux at the Longueuil courthouse.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.
The Canadian Press
