Raymond Chan

The Honourable Raymond Chan 陳卓愉 PC
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Richmond
In office 2004 – 2008
Preceded by	Joe Peschisolido
Succeeded by	Alice Wong
In office 1993 – 2000
Preceded by	Tom Siddon
Succeeded by	Joe Peschisolido
Personal details
Born	October 25, 1951 (1951-10-25) Hong Kong
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	divorced and re-married
Residence	Richmond, British Columbia
Profession	Engineer
Religion	Mennonite Brethren

Raymond Chan, PC (Chinese: 陳卓愉; pinyin: Chén Zhuōyú; Jyutping: Can4 Ceok3 Jyu4), (b. 1951) is the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Cabinet of Canada. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Chan was elected to Parliament in the 1993 federal election, defeating then Defence Minister Tom Siddon in the riding of Richmond, British Columbia. Chan is the third Chinese Canadian to be elected to Parliament, after Douglas Jung, who secured a seat in 1957, and Art Lee in 1974. In 2008, Chan lost his riding of Richmond to Conservative candidate Alice Wong. He and Inky Mark are the longest serving Canadian parliamentarians of Chinese root.

Early life

Raymond Chan was born in Hong Kong on October 25, 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 from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1977. From 1977 to 1993, he worked as an engineer for TRIUMF, a particle accelerator laboratory at UBC.

In 1989, upon the occurrence of the Tiananmen incident, Chan played an active role in supporting the protesting students in China. Later, he was elected as the first chairman of the Vancouver Alliance in support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China. He was heroically regarded by the local Chinese community. Hence, it paved the way for his future success in participating in the Canadian politics.

Political career

Chan joined the Liberal Party of Canada in 1991, and was elected to Parliament in the 1993 election, defeating Defence Minister Tom Siddon in the riding of Richmond, British Columbia. Chan secured the nomination win over future cabinet colleague Herb Dhaliwal, who subsequently chose to run in the adjacent Vancouver South riding. He was then appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien as the Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific Region for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He served in this position from 1993 to 2000.

He was defeated in the 2000 election by Joe Peschisolido of the Canadian Alliance. After Peschisolido crossed the floor 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 as the Minister of State (Multiculturalism) 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 Canadian Border Security throughout the 39th session of Parliament.

He was succeeded by Conservative Alice Wong in the election of 2008, when the Federal Liberal vote in British Columbia fell to a low of 19%. He was also forsaken by his constituents due to his failure in honouring his promise to vote against the same sex marriage bill in the parliament. His downfall was believed to be a consequence of his breaching of trust with his voters.In 2009 he sought nomination as a Liberal candidate again in the Richmond riding and was defeated by his old rival, Joe Peschisolido. From then on, he has begun to retire from politics and lived on his political pension.

References

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External links

• Raymond Chan's homepage
• How'd They Vote?: Raymond Chan's voting history and quotes
• List of the registered Richmond riding third party campaigns in the 2006 federal election.

27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet Posts (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
	Minister of State (Multiculturalism) 2004–2006
26th Ministry – Cabinet of Jean Chrétien
Sub-Cabinet Post
Predecessor	Title	Successor
	Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) (1993–2001)	Rey Pagtakhan
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by: Tom Siddon	Member of Parliament for Richmond 1993–2000, 2004–2006	Succeeded by: Joe Peschisolido
Preceded by: Joe Peschisolido		Succeeded by: --Alice Wong