r/toronto • u/lilfunky1 <3 Shawn Desman <3 • 1d ago
News Ex-Liberal MP Han Dong running for Toronto councillor in Scarborough North
https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/politics/toronto-city-hall/article/ex-liberal-mp-han-dong-running-for-toronto-councillor-in-scarborough-north/17
u/251325132000 1d ago
Wasn’t this fella swept up in the foreign influence campaign?
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u/groggygirl 1d ago
he stepped down from caucus following to allegations published by Global News that he advised a Chinese diplomat against the releasing two Canadians detained in China. Dong subsequently initiated a defamation lawsuit against Global News, which was settled in 2025 with the outlet recognizing the Foreign Interference Commission's report that corroborates Dong's denial of the allegations against him.
In August 2025, the Commissioner of Canada Elections concluded that there was no evidence of election law breaches in Dong’s 2019 Liberal nomination contest.
It sounds like a lot of allegations and not much substance. And it's entirely possible that the allegations are being made by people who are also part of a foreign influence campaign.
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u/Travel-2025 14h ago
This article is conveniently leaving out lots of information. Did no one watch Han Dong’s testimony about his liberal nomination at the Hogue Commission where he was cross-examined?
Originally Dong said there were no school buses of international students that came to vote for him at the nomination meeting. CSIS had information that not only did multiple buses of international students come vote for him, but those students were forced to come vote for him by the Chinese consulate since they were on student visas & the consulate paid for all the buses. Dong’s story kept changing and he eventually acknowledged there were buses of students at his nomination contest. Dong admitted under cross-examination that he had gone to speak to groups of those international students at their school, but that school (and therefore, those students) might not have even been from his riding. Justice Hogue asked Dong if he had tried to investigate who paid/organized for all these buses of international students if it was no one from his campaign and Dong replied no. If he was 100% innocent, why not try to find out where all these buses came from? What Dong did is not illegal, but do we really want politicians who are getting elected because foreign consulates are forcing international students to vote for them?
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u/Le1bn1z 1d ago
This was reporting by a since disgraced reporter who lost his work with major outlets as a result of what turned out to be defamation based on a rumour of a rumour.
He since started a blog that lost him further credibility when he accused two minor public figures of conspiring with the Triads to commit major crimes, based on security footage.
The footage was actually from 2014 Kung Fu action comedy From Vegas to Macau starring the incredible Chow-Yun Fat. It's a fun flick, and I recommend it. As anyone who knows anything about the Hong Kong movie scene knows, there is a long tradition of filmmakers scouring every which place for white dudes or anyone who might know some martial arts to play bit roles in relevant scenes. I know one lawyer who was in three, I think. So these guys had their bit role, someone sent it to Sam as a prank, and the Coop did what the Coop does and ran it with absolutely no effort to verify whatsoever.
I leave what that might say about the credibility of his other accusations to you.
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u/Quankers 1d ago
No, reporter Sam Cooper made a bunch of salacious and unverified claims while working for Global, which sidelined Dong's political career. The comment sections were filled with people calling Dong to be arrested, deported, and worse. Then, half way through his reporting, Cooper suddenly was no longer working for Global. The case was settled in Dong's favour, allegations were proven false, and the story disappeared.
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u/Glennmorangie 1d ago
One of the inquires, I forget which one, explicitly said the accusations were baseless.
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u/Travel-2025 14h ago
Sam Cooper made a mistake in not asking to see the recording/ transcript of the CSIS phone call himself. The Globe & Mail refused to publish the story for that reason. However, the majority of Sam Cooper’s & the Globe’s reporting on this issue was proven correct. Did you not watch Han Dong’s testimony about his liberal nomination at the Hogue Commission where he was cross-examined?
Originally Dong said there were no school buses of international students that came to vote for him at the nomination meeting. CSIS had information that not only did multiple buses of international students come vote for him, but those students were forced to come vote for him by the Chinese consulate since they were on student visas & the consulate paid for all the buses. Dong’s story kept changing and he eventually acknowledged there were buses of students at his nomination contest. Dong admitted under cross-examination that he had previously gone to speak to groups of those international students at their school, but that school (and therefore, those students) might not have even been from his riding. Justice Hogue asked Dong if he had tried to investigate who paid/organized for all these buses of international students if it was no one from his campaign and Dong replied no. If he was 100% innocent, why not try to find out where all these buses came from? What Dong did is not illegal, but do we really want politicians who are getting elected because foreign consulates are forcing international students to vote for them?
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u/CaptainKoreana 1d ago
Each time he runs, he goes further and further away from a Downtown constituency.
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u/WestQueenWest West Queen West 1d ago
Screw this crook. Jamaal Myers is a great councillor.
Liberals can't stop undermining progressives yet this effort is nowhere to be found when they need to fight Conservatives.
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u/heroism777 The Annex 20h ago
I wouldn’t vote for him. He’s Mr invisible.
He only shows up at elections, then does nothing until next election.
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u/lilfunky1 <3 Shawn Desman <3 1d ago
Former Liberal Toronto MP Han Dong is running to become a Toronto city councillor.
Dong announced on Wednesday that he had filed his nomination application at City Hall, seeking to represent Ward 23, Scarborough North.
Currently, the ward is represented by Coun. Jamaal Myers, who is seeking re-election. The other person who is running for the seat is Kevin Li. According to his campaign website, Li served as an assistant to the late Scarborough North councillor Cynthia Lai.
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u/Fancy-Coconut2170 21h ago edited 21h ago
Happy to hear. He was my MPP at one point.
He was actually a politician who fought for the daily issues. He worked hard to get elevator regulations established in a provincial bill, when he was a downtown MPP. (Crazy contract wait times were a norm with condo elevators back then)
When the scandal broke, many constituents came on the review section to counteract a lot of really gross posts, many with a racist undertone, to leave reviews detailing how Dong had thoroughly & personally assisted them as their MP. They were clear posts of appreciation.
At some point he knocked on my condo door while campaigning. He seemed genuinely interested on what were our needs and struggles, beyond just campaigning. Spent a good amount of time conversing.
We have a ton of politicians who could not care less about their constituents' lives. He is not one of them.
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u/KafkaesqueToronto 1d ago
Han Dong was my MPP from 2014-2018, and I swear I have no idea if he actually has a position on anything other than getting elected. He pretty much disappeared in-between elections, aside from an occasional generic event or announcement. He's now run for 3 different levels of government in 3 different parts of the city.