It is the first time that Moscow has banned a Western media since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24.
Russia explained that it was a response to the ban on broadcasting channels from the Russian group RT in Canada, decided in mid-March.
"By his decision to expel Canadian media from Moscow, Putin is trying to prevent them from reporting facts and this is unacceptable," Justin Trudeau said on Twitter.
“Journalists must be able to work safely – without censorship, intimidation or interference,” he added.
Conversely, accusing the Canadian government of having "adopted an openly Russophobic (political) course", the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, estimated during her weekly briefing that "CBC had become an anti-Russian propaganda megaphone.
She also denounced Canada's support for Ukraine, before and since the Russian offensive against its neighbour.
For its part, the audiovisual group said it was "deeply disappointed" by the Kremlin's decision, recalling that CBC / Radio-Canada had an office in Moscow for 44 years and was until now the only Canadian press company in have a permanent presence in that country, according to a statement.
"For international journalism, this is very bad news," said group news director Luce Julien at a press conference, speaking of a "black day" for news.
The CBC/Radio-Canada group, which employs ten people in Russia, including three foreign journalists, announced in early March "temporarily" suspending the work of its journalists on the spot, because of the new law providing for prison sentences in the event of broadcasting. of "false information about the army" about the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The EU has also banned Russian media, but so far Moscow has not adopted equivalent retaliatory measures.
© 2022 AFP