Contentious Liberal MP Paul Chiang drops out of race

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OTTAWA — Despite his party leader standing by his continued candidacy, a contentious Liberal MP has dropped out of the race.

And Liberal leader Mark Carney had little to say about it when asked by reporters about it on Tuesday, refusing to offer any explanation on why he decided to keep Markham-Unionville Liberal candidate Paul Chiang on the ballot.

Chiang, who served as a Liberal MP since 2021, announced he’s stepping aside as the party’s candidate after comments to Chinese-language media earlier this year suggesting somebody turn over Conservative Don Valley North candidate Joe Tay to the Chinese embassy to collect the HK $1 million bounty placed on his head by Beijing.

“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,” Chiang wrote on Twitter overnight.

“That’s why I’m standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham-Unionville.”

Chiang made his announcement shortly after media reports of the RCMP looking into the matter.

Chiang, a retired York Regional Police Sergeant, had apologized to Tay for the remarks, which Tay said left him feeling unsafe.

Tay’s anti-Communist activism landed him with a Beijing arrest warrant late last year.

On Monday, Carney defended his candidate and said he was welcome to continue campaigning, despite calling his comments “deeply offensive” and a “terrible lapse or judgement.”

Opposition parties and several organizations have called for Carney to boot Chiang from the ballot.

Carney was tight-lipped about Chiang’s resignation when grilled by reporters on Tuesday, and refused to explain why he opted to keep him on the ballot despite opposition parties and advocacy groups calling for his ouster.

“Mr. Chiang offered his resignation last night, and I accepted it,” Carney said.

“As I said yesterday, his comments were deeply troubling and regrettable. We will move on with looking for a new candidate for Markham, and I’ll leave it at that.”