Liberal MP Paul Chiang Won’t Seek Re-Election Amid Controversy Over China Bounty Remark
Liberal MP Paul Chiang has announced he will not seek re-election in the upcoming federal race following backlash over comments suggesting a Conservative candidate could be handed over to China for a bounty.
In a statement posted to X late Monday night, Chiang called the election “uniquely important” and said he wanted to avoid distractions at a critical moment.
“That’s why I’m standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham-Unionville,” he wrote.
His decision comes just hours after Liberal Leader Mark Carney defended him at a housing policy event in Vaughan, Ont.
“The comments were deeply offensive. This is a terrible lapse of judgment by Mr. Chiang. He has apologized for those comments,” Carney said, while also calling Chiang a “person of integrity” with a long career in law enforcement.
Chiang’s remarks, made in a January interview with Chinese-language media, suggested Conservative candidate Joe Tay should be turned over to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. Hong Kong police had previously placed a HK$1-million bounty on Tay for alleged violations of the National Security Law. Tay, a vocal critic of Hong Kong’s human rights violations, denounced Chiang’s comments as “disgusting” and called for his immediate removal.
“Suggesting that people collect a bounty from the Chinese Communist Party to deliver a political opponent to the Chinese Consulate is disgusting and must never be condoned,” Tay wrote in a statement Monday.
Chiang apologized last Friday, calling his comments “deplorable” and a “complete lapse of judgment.”
“As a former police officer, I should have known better,” he said.
The controversy has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Carney of failing to protect a Canadian citizen from foreign threats, while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused him of “putting his party ahead of his country.”
Human rights group Hong Kong Watch has urged the RCMP to investigate Chiang, arguing his comments may warrant legal scrutiny.
Chiang, a former York Regional Police officer, was first elected in 2021 and served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of diversity and inclusion. The Liberals have nominated candidates for nearly 300 of 343 ridings ahead of the April 7 deadline.
