Canada has opened an investigation into Cheng Muyang, a Vancouver property developer identified as a high-profile economic fugitive wanted by Chinese authorities, Canadian Ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques said.

Canada has received a list of Chinese fugitives who are believed to have fled there, and the country is working closely with its Chinese counterparts to investigate each case.

"If we obtain enough evidence to identify they are the fugitives, our judicial authority will immediately start the procedures to arrest them and return them to China in accordance with the laws," Saint-Jacques said.