Carney Rejects Calls to Remove Liberal Candidate Who Suggested Handing Over Rival to China

Liberal Leader Mark Carney speaks with media on Parliament Hill following a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security in Ottawa on March 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Liberal candidate and incumbent MP Paul Chiang had a “terrible lapse in judgment” by suggesting a rival Tory candidate should be handed over to China, but he will nonetheless remain on the Liberal ticket.

“He’s made his apology; he made it to the public, he made it to the individual concerned, made it directly to me, and he’s going to continue with this candidacy,” Carney said during a March 31 campaign event in Vaughan, Ont.

Carney said he was “deeply offended” by Chiang’s comment but that he views the controversy as a “teachable moment” which “underscores the respect with which we treat human rights in this country, the differences between Canadian society and other countries.”

“He has my confidence,” said Carney, praising Chiang for his long career as a police officer.

The controversy stems from comments Chiang made to Chinese-language publication Ming Pao during an ethnic media conference in January. The comments, regarding Conservative candidate and Hong Kong democracy activist Joe Tay, were first reported by the Toronto Association for Democracy in China.

Chiang is reported to have suggested his then-rival in the riding of Markham-Unionville, Conservative candidate Tay, be handed over to Chinese authorities.

“To everyone here, you can claim the $1-million-dollar bounty if you bring him to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,” Chiang reportedly said.

Hong Kong authorities issued international bounties and cancelled the passports of democracy activists in late 2024, a move condemned by Global Affairs Canada.

“This 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,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in December.

One of the impacted individuals in Canada is Tay, who is now running in the election in the Don Valley North riding. A bounty of HK$1 million (approximately CA$180,000) has been placed on Tay and another Canadian, veteran journalist Victor Ho.

Tay is the founder of the democracy advocacy platform HongKonger Station and was a well-known actor and singer in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s before moving to Canada in 1995.

Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary to the minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship Paul Chiang rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 22, 2024. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Calls to Remove Chiang

Conservatives and the NDP have criticized Chiang’s comments, with Tories saying he should not be allowed to seek re-election.

“His threatening public comments were intended to intimidate me, and they must not be tolerated,” Tay said in a March 31 statement. He added that Chiang had attempted to contact him and said that an apology would be insufficient.

“Threats like these are the tradecraft of the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in Canada,” he said, adding that the situation has made him fear for his safety. Tay said he had contacted the RCMP regarding his personal protection before Chiang’s comments had surfaced.

NDP candidate and incumbent MP Jenny Kwan, who has been targeted by Beijing interference, called Chiang’s comments “absolutely astounding.” She said as a former policeman he should have known better and called China’s bounty tactics “intimidation at its worst.”

“In what universe is that normal?” Kwan said during a campaign event in Port Moody, B.C., over the weekend.

Chiang had first reacted on March 28 by apologizing and calling his comments “deplorable and a complete lapse of judgment.” He said that as a former police officer he “should have known better” and that he remains committed to standing with the people of Hong Kong in the fight for freedom and human rights.

Chiang issued a second statement on March 30, saying he had spoken with Tay to personally apologize.

Carney said in Vaughan he was “absolutely not” weighing in the demographics of the Markham-Unionville riding in making his decisions to keep Chiang on the ticket. The riding has a large population from Mainland China.

“I stand foursquare for rights, foursquare for our position, our very strong position, vis-à-vis China, respect for Canadians and all rights of Canadian citizens, irrespective of whether they hold dual citizenship or not, to be absolutely clear,” said Carney.

Carney also said Chiang has family in Hong Kong and he’s “under no illusions” about the situation there and in China generally.

Foreign Interference

The upcoming Canadian election is being conducted under increased concerns about foreign interference, following key reports issued on the matter in recent months.

Carney said on March 31 he had received an additional briefing on foreign interference the day prior, but he did not provide details.

The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force provided an update on its work on March 31 and said that security-cleared party representatives had received a briefing about threats to the election late last week.

The task force said the comments made by Chiang “don’t fall under the mandate of the panel,” in reference to the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol. This mechanism is also called the “Panel of Five” and is composed of top bureaucrats in charge of alerting the public if an incident can impact electoral integrity.

“The bounty against [Joe Tay] is an example of transnational repression. The Panel and SITE are monitoring as it relates to the bounty,” said Laurie-Anne Kempton, assistant secretary of the cabinet for communications at the Privy Council Office.

Along with criticism from politicians, 13 Hongkonger-Canadian organizations issued a joint statement on March 31 asking for Chiang’s candidacy to be revoked. The groups, including the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, said Chiang’s comments are “intolerable and represent an endorsement of Beijing’s transnational repression.”

The Canadian electoral campaign is taking place shortly after the Foreign Interference Commission concluded its work and released its final report in late January. The inquiry was launched after multiple intelligence leaks in the media depicted widespread interference by Beijing in Canadian democracy.

The Commission identified the Chinese regime as the “most active perpetrator” of foreign interference in Canada.