diff --git a/src/common/childProcess.apis.ts b/src/common/childProcess.apis.ts
index 8ae2f26b..7e7d1f4e 100644
--- a/src/common/childProcess.apis.ts
+++ b/src/common/childProcess.apis.ts
@@ -24,5 +24,10 @@ export function spawnProcess(
     args: string[],
     options?: cp.SpawnOptions,
 ): cp.ChildProcess | cp.ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams {
-    return cp.spawn(command, args, options ?? {});
+    // Set PYTHONUTF8=1; user-provided PYTHONUTF8 values take precedence.
+    const env = {
+        PYTHONUTF8: '1',
+        ...(options?.env ?? process.env),
+    };
+    return cp.spawn(command, args, { ...options, env });
 }
diff --git a/src/managers/common/nativePythonFinder.ts b/src/managers/common/nativePythonFinder.ts
index 2708d8fe..f544de70 100644
--- a/src/managers/common/nativePythonFinder.ts
+++ b/src/managers/common/nativePythonFinder.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-import * as ch from 'child_process';
 import * as fs from 'fs-extra';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { PassThrough } from 'stream';
 import { Disposable, ExtensionContext, LogOutputChannel, Uri } from 'vscode';
 import * as rpc from 'vscode-jsonrpc/node';
 import { PythonProjectApi } from '../../api';
+import { spawnProcess } from '../../common/childProcess.apis';
 import { ENVS_EXTENSION_ID, PYTHON_EXTENSION_ID } from '../../common/constants';
 import { getExtension } from '../../common/extension.apis';
 import { traceError, traceLog, traceVerbose, traceWarn } from '../../common/logging';
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ class NativePythonFinderImpl implements NativePythonFinder {
         const writable = new PassThrough();
         const disposables: Disposable[] = [];
         try {
-            const proc = ch.spawn(this.toolPath, ['server'], { env: process.env });
+            const proc = spawnProcess(this.toolPath, ['server'], { env: process.env, stdio: 'pipe' });
             proc.stdout.pipe(readable, { end: false });
             proc.stderr.on('data', (data) => this.outputChannel.error(`[pet] ${data.toString()}`));
             writable.pipe(proc.stdin, { end: false });
diff --git a/src/managers/conda/condaUtils.ts b/src/managers/conda/condaUtils.ts
index 04d7ccbb..3b1f45ea 100644
--- a/src/managers/conda/condaUtils.ts
+++ b/src/managers/conda/condaUtils.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import * as ch from 'child_process';
 import * as fse from 'fs-extra';
 import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
@@ -25,6 +24,7 @@ import {
     PythonEnvironmentInfo,
     PythonProject,
 } from '../../api';
+import { spawnProcess } from '../../common/childProcess.apis';
 import { ENVS_EXTENSION_ID, EXTENSION_ROOT_DIR } from '../../common/constants';
 import { showErrorMessageWithLogs } from '../../common/errors/utils';
 import { Common, CondaStrings, PackageManagement, Pickers } from '../../common/localize';
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ async function _runConda(
     const quotedConda = quoteStringIfNecessary(conda);
     const timer = new StopWatch();
     deferred.promise.finally(() => traceInfo(`Ran conda in ${timer.elapsedTime}: ${quotedConda} ${args.join(' ')}`));
-    const proc = ch.spawn(quotedConda, args, { shell: true });
+    const proc = spawnProcess(quotedConda, args, { shell: true });
 
     token?.onCancellationRequested(() => {
         proc.kill();
diff --git a/src/managers/poetry/poetryPackageManager.ts b/src/managers/poetry/poetryPackageManager.ts
index d3379e9d..0134cb3e 100644
--- a/src/managers/poetry/poetryPackageManager.ts
+++ b/src/managers/poetry/poetryPackageManager.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import * as ch from 'child_process';
 import * as fsapi from 'fs-extra';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import {
@@ -22,6 +21,7 @@ import {
     PythonEnvironment,
     PythonEnvironmentApi,
 } from '../../api';
+import { spawnProcess } from '../../common/childProcess.apis';
 import { showErrorMessage, showInputBox, withProgress } from '../../common/window.apis';
 import { PoetryManager } from './poetryManager';
 import { getPoetry } from './poetryUtils';
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ export async function runPoetry(
     log?.info(`Running: ${poetry} ${args.join(' ')}`);
 
     return new Promise<string>((resolve, reject) => {
-        const proc = ch.spawn(poetry, args, { cwd });
+        const proc = spawnProcess(poetry, args, { cwd });
         token?.onCancellationRequested(() => {
             proc.kill();
             reject(new CancellationError());