Paul Chiang has announced that he will no longer be running as the Liberal candidate for Markham-Unionville.
The now-former MP's move comes following backlash over his decision to encourage people to turn Conservative candidate Joe Tay in to the Chinese Communist Party.
"For the past three-and-a-half years, it has been the greatest honour of my life to serve the people of Markham-Unionville as their Member of Parliament," Chiang wrote in a statement posted to X. "Every single day, I served with integrity and worked to deliver results for the people of my community."
He went on to note that, "this is a uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians," and that "as the Prime Minister and Team Canada work to stand up to President Trump and protect our economy, I do not want there to be distractions in this critical moment."
"That's why I'm standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham-Unionville," Chiang continued. "I want to thank my family for their support, and our community for standing with me as we have worked to build a better future. For over three decades, I have served my community with my fullest commitment to keeping people safe and protecting our country's values — and I always will."
Chiang previously apologized for telling Chinese-language media earlier this year that Tay should be kidnapped and turned over to the Chinese embassy in Toronto for a HK$1 million (CA$183,915) bounty.
Tay is wanted by authorities in Hong Kong, who are under orders from Beijing, for running a pro-democracy YouTube channel in Canada.
Liberal leader Mark Carney defended Chiang at a press conference on Monday, calling him a "person of integrity" and suggesting the incident should serve as a "teachable moment."
More to come...
