Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday morning said the Liberal MP who called for a Tory candidate to be handed over to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must be immediately disqualified.
Former police officer and Liberal MP Paul Chiang, who is seeking re-election in Toronto riding Markham-Unionville, publicly admitted on an X post that he had accepted a bounty from the CCP to kidnap and turn over a Conservative candidate to the communist regime.
The bounty to turn over the Toronto riding Don Valley North Conservative candidate Joe Tay was HK$1 million (CA$183,915), as Chiang openly admitted on Chinese-language media in January.
Chiang apologized, but Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney has not acknowledged the matter.
Poilievre on Sunday morning said an apology is not enough, and the member must be disqualified from the Liberal party.
“He must be disqualified," said Poilievre.
“I find it incredible that Mark Carney would allow someone to run for his party that called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government on a bounty, a foreign government that would almost certainly execute that Canadian citizen.”
“Think about that for a second. We have a Liberal MP saying that a Canadian citizen should be handed over to a foreign dictatorship to get a bounty so that that citizen could be murdered.”
“And Mark Carney says he should stay on as a candidate. What does that say about whether Mark Carney would protect Canadians?”
“Mark Carney is deeply conflicted. Just in November, he went to Beijing and secured a quarter billion dollar loan for his company from a state owned Chinese bank. He's deeply compromised, and he will never stand up for Canada against any foreign regime," continued the Tory leader.
“It is another reason why Mr. Carney must show us all his assets — all the money he owes, all the money that his companies owe to foreign, hostile regimes.”
“And this story might not be entirely the story of the bounty and a Liberal MP calling for a Canadian to be handed over for execution to a foreign government might not be something that the everyday Canadian can relate to because it's so outrageous.”
“But I ask you this, if Mark Carney would allow his Liberal MP to make a comment like this, When would he ever protect Canada or Canadians against foreign hostility? He has never put Canada first, and that's why we cannot have a fourth Liberal term.”
“After the lost Liberal decade, our country is a playground for foreign interference. Our economy is weaker than ever before. Our people more divided. We need to change with Canada first, with a new government will stand up to the security and economy of our citizens.”
The Toronto Association for Democracy in China (TADC) in a statement said, “China has once again stepped up on activities to interfere in the upcoming Canadian federal election.”
TADC pointed to Chiang’s comments back in January on Chinese-language media Ming Pao, where he spoke openly about the HK$1 million bounty placed by Hong Kong Police on Tay.
“To everyone here, you can claim the one-million-dollar bounty if you bring him to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,” Chiang told Ming Pao, a Chinese-language media, during an ethnic media conference in January, as per the TADC statement.
“This is shocking. Mr. Chiang openly encouraged people to assist in China interference and transnational repression,” said Cheuk Kwan, TADC co-chair.
“Rather than protecting Canadians, he betrayed them and jeopardized their safety.”
The TADC said in December 2024, Hong Kong Police announced a bounty on Tay and other members of the Hong Kong diaspora around the world.
At that time, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanié Joly warned that “attempt by Hong Kong authorities to conduct transnational repression abroad, including by issuing threats, intimidation or coercion against Canadians or those in Canada, will not be tolerated.”
The TADC, in line with NSICOP findings, said “China has been mobilizing voters, especially those in ridings with a high concentration of Chinese Canadians, to vote for China-friendly candidates. It purportedly assisted in the campaign of Chiang to defeat a highly popular Conservative incumbent in the 2021 election.”
“As well, incumbent MP Kenny Chiu (Stevenson-Richmond East) was defeated in the same election by an orchestrated disinformation campaign on WeChat, a Chinese social media. Chiu, originally from Hong Kong, has angered China by speaking out against that country’s treatment of Uyghurs, and introducing a private member’s bill to establish the Foreign Influence Registry. Another Conservative candidate has been appointed by the party to run in this election.”
“This is another example of China exerting undue influence in our election,” said Gabriel Yiu, a current affairs commentator, per the TADC.
“Our political parties are being held hostage in the sense they are afraid to run candidates not favoured by China.”
