Michael Chan (Canadian politician)

Kwok Chi (Michael) Chan[1] (traditional Chinese: 陳國治; simplified Chinese: 陈国治; Jyutping: can4 gwok3 zi6; pinyin: Chén Guózhì) (born c. 1951) is a Hong Kong Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007 until 2018. He represented the riding of Markham-Unionville. Chan served as a Cabinet Minister, during his entire tenure in politics in the governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. Michael Chan presently serves as a Senior Business Advisor for the law firm Miller Thomson LLP in Vaughan. Chan also serves as a member of the board of governors at the Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology.[2]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chan.
Michael Chan
陳國治
Chan at the Canadian Film Centre's 2013 Garden Party
Deputy Mayor of Markham
Assumed office
2022
Preceded byDon Hamilton
York Regional Councilor
for Markham
Assumed office
2022
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Markham-Unionville
Markham (2007)
In office
February 8, 2007 – June 7, 2018
Preceded byTony Wong
Succeeded byBilly Pang
Personal details
Born1951 (age 71–72)
Guangzhou, China
Political partyLiberal
ResidenceMarkham, Ontario
OccupationInsurance broker

Background

Chan was born in Guangzhou, and his father was an official in the Kuomintang.[3] As the Chinese Communist Party took power in China, Mr. Chan's family went to Macau,[3] before moving to Hong Kong and eventually migrating to Canada in 1969, when he was 18. Chan has lived in Markham since 1995.

Before entering politics he was president of the federal Liberal Party of Canada riding association for the Markham—Unionville constituency held by MP John McCallum. According to an endorsement on Chan's website, John McCallum and Chan are close friends.[4]

Political career

Chan was elected in a February 8, 2007 by-election, necessitated by the resignation of former Liberal MPP Tony Wong, who left his seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to successfully run for York Regional Council in 2006. He was re-elected in 2007, 2011, and 2014.[5][6][7]

In February, 2007 he was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Revenue. In October 2007, after the election he was moved to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.[8] In 2010 he was moved again to Minister of Tourism, Culture. A year later the mandate of the ministry was changed slightly to include Sport issues. In November 2012 he assumed the roles Citizenship and Immigration and responsibility for the Pan/Parapan American Games from Charles Sousa when Sousa announced he was running for the leadership of the Liberal Party.

In February 2013, when Kathleen Wynne took over as the new premier, she confirmed Chan in his roles as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister Responsible for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.[9] In June 2014, Wynne appointed Chan as the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade.[10] Chan was instrumental in fundraising for the Liberals, as well as being active in the recruitment of Chinese Canadians to campaign for seats at both the federal and provincial levels.[3]

Chan announced his retirement from provincial politics in April 2018, a few months before the next Ontario election.[11] During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Chan publicly condemned the pro-democracy protesters and supported the Hong Kong Police Force's response, while attributing the protests to alleged manipulation by foreign actors.[12][13]

In August 2022, Chan registered as a York Region council candidate.[14] He was elected to York Regional council in the 2022 municipal elections, and became deputy mayor of Markham.[15][16]

Involvement in alleged Chinese government interference
Further information: Allegations of Chinese government interference in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections and Chinese government interference in Canada

In 2010, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service allegedly became concerned that Chan had become too close to the Chinese consulate in Toronto, prompting a senior federal official to caution the provincial government about his alleged conduct.[17] Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and his successor, Kathleen Wynne, both dismissed the allegations against Chan.[17]

In 2015, Chan sued The Globe and Mail for a report that claimed he was the subject an investigation by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for ties to officials in Beijing and susceptibility to influence by the Chinese government.[18][19][20][21] Chan responded that his engagement with the Chinese government was an appropriate aspect of his role as the Minister of Immigration and International Trade in Ontario. Former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne also rejected the accusations against him.[22] Toronto lawyer Ping Tam suggested that Chan was being targeted because he was encouraging young Chinese-Canadians to engage in politics and had supported a failed 2013 agreement between the Toronto District School Board to install Confucius Institutes in local schools.[23][24] Chan also threatened Alberta premier Jason Kenney with a lawsuit over criticism of Chan's support for Beijing.[25]

On February 24, 2023, Global News reported that its intelligence sources in CSIS had said that Chan had arranged the ouster of Liberal MP Geng Tan in Don Valley North in favour of Han Dong in advance of the 2019 federal election because China was unhappy with what Tan was doing. Sources claim Justin Trudeau and senior Liberal Party officials ignored CSIS warnings about Chan and Dong. Chan, Dong, and the Chinese embassy denied the accusations, with Chan describing the leaks as "outrageous" and possibly contrary to the Security of Information Act.[16]

It has been alleged by anonymous officials that the Trudeau government may have downplayed warnings about Chan because of fundraising ties to senior party officials.[16] According to one anonymous Greater Toronto Area Liberal party politician, "Michael Chan is involved centrally in decision-making, and the party consults with him and his team... [t]hey are kingmakers of the party, standing behind the scenes and moving their pawns. So if they can produce the money, the party is putty in their hands.”[16]

Electoral record
Ontario provincial by-election, February 8, 2007: Markham
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMichael Chan9,08049.32%−2.38
Progressive ConservativeAlex Yuan6,42034.87%−5.46
New DemocraticJanice Hagan1,4928.10%+3.02
GreenBernadette Manning9995.43%+3.87
FreedomCathy McKeever1590.86%–
Family CoalitionPatrick Redmond1350.73%−0.59
LibertarianJay Miller1260.69%–
Total valid votes 18,411 100.00
Liberal hold Swing +1.25
2007 Ontario general election: Markham—Unionville
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalMichael Chan21,05459.32
Progressive ConservativeKi Kit Li9,58127.00
New DemocraticAndy Arifin2,5997.32
GreenBernadette Manning1,9115.38
Family CoalitionLeon Williams3450.97
Total valid votes 35,490 100.0
2011 Ontario general election: Markham—Unionville
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMichael Chan19,57952.58−6.74
Progressive ConservativeShan Thayaparan11,72031.47+4.47
New DemocraticP.C. Choo4,57512.29+4.97
GreenMyles O'Brien1,1042.96−2.42
LibertarianAllen Small2590.70
Total valid votes 37,237 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 2840.76
Turnout 37,52140.68
Eligible voters 92,232
Liberal hold Swing −5.61
Source(s)
"Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Markham—Unionville" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
2014 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMichael Chan21,51751.33-1.25
Progressive ConservativeShan Thayaparan14,24133.98+2.51
New DemocraticNadine Kormos Hawkins4,20510.03-2.26
GreenMyles O'Brien1,5093.60+0.64
LibertarianAllen Small4441.06+0.36
Total valid votes 41,916100.0  
Liberal hold Swing -1.88
Source: Elections Ontario[7]

References
  1. @ONPARLeducation (13 July 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Michael Chan". Miller Thomson LLP. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. Craig Offman (17 June 2015). "The making of Michael Chan". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  4. Chan, Michael. "John McCallum". Michael Chan for Regional Councillor. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 10 October 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  6. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  7. "General Election by District: Markham-Unionville". Elections Ontario. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014.
  8. Ferguson, Rob; Benzie, Robert (31 October 2007). "Premier goes for new blood; Expanded 28-member cabinet has eight ministers from Toronto, three from 905 area". Toronto Star. p. A13. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  9. "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. 12 February 2013. p. A3.
  10. Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (24 June 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  11. Benzie, Robert (5 April 2018). "Liberal cabinet ministers Michael Chan and Tracy MacCharles, MPP Grant Crack say they are retiring". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  12. Blackwell, Tom (21 August 2019). "Former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister headlines pro-Beijing rally near Toronto". National Post. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  13. Xu, Xiao (15 September 2019). "Former Ontario minister sides with Beijing, pins Hong Kong protests on 'outside' forces". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  14. Cooper, Sam (23 August 2022). "Polarizing Chinese-Canadian leader re-enters political arena". Global News. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  15. Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (13 February 2023). "CSIS warned Trudeau about Toronto-area politician's alleged ties to Chinese diplomats". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  16. Cooper, Sam (24 February 2023). "Liberals ignored CSIS warning on 2019 candidate accused in Chinese interference probe: sources". Global News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  17. Offman, Craig (7 July 2016). "Threatening lawsuit, Michael Chan demands apology from Jason Kenney". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  18. Offman, Craig (17 June 2015). "The making of Michael Chan". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  19. Edmiston, Jake (22 June 2015). "Michael Chan threatens legal action over Globe report that CSIS investigated his ties to China". National Post. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  20. Ferguson, Rob (7 August 2015). "Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan sues Globe and Mail for $4.55 million". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  21. John Manthorpe (5 January 2019). Claws of the Panda: Beijing's Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada. Cormorant Books. pp. 251–255. ISBN 978-1-77086-539-6.
  22. "Premier rejects CSIS claim that China is influencing cabinet minister". CBC News. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  23. Adler, Mike (30 June 2015). "Chinese-Canadian organizations demand apologies for stories in Globe and Mail". Toronto.com. Metroland Media Group. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  24. "Ontario minister Michael Chan sues Globe and Mail for alleging Chinese ties". CBC News. 7 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  25. Offman, Craig (7 July 2016). "Threatening lawsuit, Michael Chan demands apology from Jason Kenney". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
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