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OTTAWA — Embattled Toronto Liberal candidate Paul Chiang dropped out of the race hours after the RCMP said it was probing comments he made suggesting a rival candidate be turned over to Chinese authorities.
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In a statement, the incumbent candidate in Markham–Unionville said he was stepping down after days of controversy because he did not want to derail the Liberal campaign.
“As the prime minister and Team Canada work to stand up to President [Donald] Trump and protect our economy, I do not want there to be distractions in this critical moment,” Chiang wrote on X.
“That’s why I’m standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham–Unionville.”
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His statement came just hours after National Post reported that the RCMP was probing Chiang’s comments in January suggesting a supporter could cash in on a HK$1 million bounty if they turned over his Conservative rival, Joe Tay, to Chinese authorities.
Tay, a former resident of Hong Kong, had been charged under Hong Kong’s widely condemned national security law for running a YouTube channel in Canada that was critical of its Beijing-dominated government.
Canada believes the bounties are a form of transnational repression against critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The federal Liberal party has been facing mounting pressure to drop Chiang as a candidate ever since his comments about his Conservative rival Joe Tay were revealed last week.
Chiang’s withdrawal came the same day Liberal leader Mark Carney reaffirmed his confidence in Chiang, chalking the comments by the former police officer up to a “terrible lapse in judgment” that amounts to a “teachable moment”.
Carney’s decision to maintain Chiang was panned by CCP critics, human rights groups and opposition parties.
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Monday, pro-democracy group Hong Kong Watch sent a letter to RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, urging him to open an investigation to determine if Chiang’s comments may have been unlawful.
Tuesday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre suggested that Carney’s decision not to kick out Chiang immediately means he is unable to stand up to foreign opponents like China and the United States.
“Mr. Carney never stands up for Canada. We saw yesterday that he supported his MP, Paul Chiang, an MP who asked for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to the Chinese government to be incarcerated or killed,” Poilievre said in French.
“If he can’t defend Canada against a dictatorship, how can he never defend Canada against other threats, including the U.S. tariffs. He is a weak, disconnected leader,” he added.
More to come…
National Post
cnardi@postmedia.com
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