Raymond Chan (; born 1951) is the first

Chinese Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

to be appointed to the

Cabinet of Canada The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of Minister of the Crown, ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the ...

. A member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, Chan was elected to Parliament in the 1993 federal election, defeating then Defence Minister

Tom Siddon Thomas Edward Siddon, (born November 9, 1941) is a Canadians, Canadian politician. Early life and education Born in Drumheller, Alberta, Siddon pursued engineering, graduating with distinction from the University of Alberta in 1963, winning the G ...

in the riding of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Chan is the fourth Chinese Canadian elected to Parliament, after

Douglas Jung Douglas Jung, (; February 25, 1924 – January 4, 2002) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, military officer, and Special Operations Executive secret agent. A Conservative, he was the first member of a visible minority elected to the Parliament ...

, who secured a seat in 1957,

Art Lee Arthur John Lee (; born September 30, 1947) is a Canadian politician and lawyer based in British Columbia. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament (MP) representing Vancouver East from 1974 to 1979, and as the leader of the ...

in 1974 and

Inky Mark Inky Mark (; born November 17, 1947) is a Canadian politician and a former member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the Manitoba riding of Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. Mark was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, ...

in 1997. In 2008, Chan lost his riding of Richmond to Conservative candidate

Alice Wong Alice Wong Chan Siu-ping (; ' Chan, born June 30, 1948) is a Canadian politician and a member of the Conservative Party who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Richmond Centre from 2015 to 2021. She previousl ...

Early life

Raymond Chan was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 1951. He emigrated to Canada in 1969, two years after Canada liberalized its immigration policy. He received a B.A.Sc. degree in

Engineering Physics Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(UBC) in 1977. From 1977 to 1993, he worked as an engineer for

TRIUMF TRIUMF is Canada's national particle accelerator centre. It is considered Canada's premier physics laboratory, and consistently regarded as one of the world's leading subatomic physics research centers. Owned and operated by a consortium of u ...

, a particle accelerator laboratory at UBC.

Political career

Chan joined the

in 1991 after he was elected as the inaugural president of the Vancouver Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China. Then he was elected to Parliament in the 1993 election, defeating Defence Minister

in the riding of

. Chan secured the nomination win over future cabinet colleague

Herb Dhaliwal Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, PC (born December 12, 1952) is a Canadian politician and businessman. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1993 election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver South. ...

, who subsequently chose to run in the adjacent

Vancouver South Vancouver South (french: Vancouver-Sud) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1997, and since 2004. It covers the southern portion of the city of Va ...

riding. He was then appointed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

as the Secretary of State for the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

Region for the

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

. He served in this position from 1993 to 2000. He was defeated in the 2000 election by Joe Peschisolido of the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

. After Peschisolido

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to the Liberal Party, Chan battled Peschisolido for the Liberal Party's nomination, and won it after a fiercely contested race. Chan returned to Parliament in the 2004 election. He was subsequently appointed to the cabinet by Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

as the

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

(

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) for the Department of Heritage. Chan was re-elected in 2006, and served as Opposition Critic for the Asia Pacific, Seniors, the Social Economy, and Canada Border Security throughout the 39th session of Parliament. He was defeated by Conservative

in the election of 2008 by more than 8,000 votes. He sought nomination as a Richmond Liberal again in 2009 and was defeated by Peschisolido. He has been a major fundraiser for political candidates since leaving office.

Electoral history

References

External links

How'd They Vote?: Raymond Chan's voting history and quotes
*
Raymond Chan (Profile)
by Anthony Wilson-Smith and Chris Wood at ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Raymond 1951 births Living people Canadian engineers Canadian Mennonites People from Richmond, British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni Naturalized citizens of Canada Hong Kong emigrants to Canada Canadian politicians of Hong Kong descent Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Canadian politicians of Chinese descent