Briefly: Foreign interference led to Conservative MP’s 2021 defeat
Bob Mackin
Conservative Kenny Chiu wants to return to Ottawa as the Steveston-Richmond East MP in 2025.
The 2019-elected Chiu was upset in the 2021 election by Liberal rookie Parm Bains, whose campaign benefitted from supporters of the Chinese Communist Party.
An invitation to a Nov. 23 lunch in Steveston said Chiu is recruiting new party members, volunteers and donors to his nomination campaign. Chiu supported Pierre Poilievre’s winning leadership campaign in 2022.
Kenny Chiu at David Lam Park during the June 4, 2024 Tiananmen Square Massacre memorial (Mackin)
Before the 2021 election, Chiu proposed a registry of foreign agents, supported the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and voted to declare China was committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims. China retaliated by adding him to its sanctions list.
Documents tabled in September at the Hogue Commission on foreign interference from the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections said the People’s Republic of China government gave “the impetus and direction” for the successful campaign to defeat Chiu and his party in the 2021 election. Investigators, however, said they did not have enough evidence to file Canada Elections Act charges for undue foreign influence, intimidation, unregistered third party or use of foreign funds.
Also named on the invitation for the Ember Kitchen event is Richmond Coun. Chak Au, who is seeking the Conservative nomination for the new Richmond Centre-Marpole riding. Trudeau Liberal rookie Wilson Miao upset incumbent Conservative Alice Wong in the Richmond Centre riding in 2021.
Au, first elected to Richmond city council in 2011, was courted by the BC Liberals before the 2017 provincial election, but ran for the B.C. NDP and lost to Linda Reid in Richmond-South Centre. He donated $700 to the B.C. NDP and $1,288 to the federal Conservatives in 2023.
In Richmond’s 2022 civic election, Au topped the polls for the eight city councillor seats with 16,515 votes.
Au has gained attention for attending many events over the years involving Chinese consular officials and their supporters. One of them was an October 2021 ceremony at Jack Poole Plaza to promote the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
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