Former Liberal Han Dong ‘disappointed’ to sit out federal campaign

Former MP Han Dong stepped away from Liberal caucus after Global News’ reports on his interactions with Toronto’s Chinese consulate.

Former Liberal MP Han Dong will not seek re-election after he says the party told him that they’d be running another candidate.

Dong, the independent member for Don Valley North, says he’s “disappointed” that he won’t be running in the upcoming contest, but said he didn’t want to split the vote in the safely Liberal riding to give the party its best shot at winning.

Dong stepped away from the Liberal caucus on March 22, 2023, after Global News, citing unnamed national security sources, published alleged details about his interactions with the Chinese consulate in Toronto. Dong reportedly had discussions with his party about returning to caucus since June 2023.

“As many of you know, I had no choice but to leave the Liberal caucus about two years ago to try and clear my name in response to false accusations Global News published about me,” Dong said in a statement published on social media.

Dong is now suing Global’s parent company, Corus Entertainment, and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Citing two national security sources, Global reported that Dong discussed the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig with Han Tao, then China’s consul general in Toronto, in February 2021, without notifying the government first. The report included allegations suggesting that over the course of the phone call, Dong privately advised the diplomat that releasing the Two Michaels, who had been detained on national security grounds by Beijing, at that time would benefit the opposition Conservatives.

Dong has repeatedly said he had always advocated for the Two Michaels’ release.

A summary of the call, submitted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to the recent public inquiry on foreign interference, suggested Dong “expressed the view that even if the (People’s Republic of China) released the ‘Two Michaels’ at that moment, opposition parties would view the PRC’s action as an affirmation of the effectiveness of a hardline Canadian approach to the PRC.”