Han Dong (politician)

Han Peng Dong (; born ) is a Chinese-Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Don Valley North in the 2019 federal election as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was the Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Trinity—Spadina from 2014 until 2018.

Background

Dong was born in Shanghai. He moved to Toronto with his family when he was 13 and they settled in the Parkdale area of Toronto. He lives in Toronto with his wife Sophie and their two children.

Dong worked as marketing director of Chianti Foods and then with the non-profit Canada Shanghai Business Association. Since making the switch to politics, he spent nine years at Queen’s Park serving as Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Gerry Phillips's MPP liaison, and most recently as a senior adviser of community outreach under then Citizenship and Immigration Minister Michael Coteau.

Politics

Provincial

Dong ran in the 2014 provincial election as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Trinity—Spadina. He defeated New Democrat incumbent Rosario Marchese by 9,175 votes.

He was Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities; Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy; Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development; Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy; Vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs; member of the Select Committee on Sexual Violence and Harassment; member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts; member of the Standing Committee on Estimates. He also served as the Chair of The Cabinet Committee of Legislations and Regulations.

In February 2016, he introduced a private member's bill to license and regulate the Ontario home inspection industry, which prompted the Ontario Liberal government to draft its own government legislation for that purpose.

In March 2017 Dong introduced another private member's bill, the Reliable Elevators Act, setting time limits on repairs of elevators in residential buildings. The bill was successfully passed. Dong noted the hardship out of service elevators posed to the elderly, and to parents whose children required strollers.

In the 2018 provincial election, Dong was defeated by New Democratic candidate Chris Glover in the redistributed riding of Spadina—Fort York.

Municipal

Dong registered as a candidate in the Toronto municipal election, to represent Ward 20 on Toronto City Council. After the number of wards in the city was reduced from 47 to 25, Dong did not refile his candidacy by the September 21, 2018 deadline and was thus deemed to have withdrawn.

Federal

On July 4, 2019, Dong confirmed his candidacy for the federal Liberal nomination in Don Valley North following the retirement of incumbent MP Geng Tan. Dong was elected as Member of Parliament for Don Valley North in the October, 2019 federal election.

Dong was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley North in the September 2021 general federal election.

Dong currently serves as the Co-Chair Canada-China Legislative Association. Dong is also a member of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills, and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, and a member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics.

Electoral record

Federal

Provincial

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dong, Han
1977 births
Businesspeople from Shanghai
Businesspeople from Toronto
Chinese emigrants to Canada
Living people
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
People from Old Toronto
Politicians from Shanghai
Politicians from Toronto
21st-century Canadian politicians
Canadian politicians of Chinese descent
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Liberal Party of Canada MPs