Michael Ma
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Michael Ma | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Markham—Unionville | |||||||||
| Assumed office April 28, 2025 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Chiang | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | |||||||||
| Party | Liberal (since 2025) | ||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (until 2025) | ||||||||
| Website | michaelma | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬榮錚 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马荣铮 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Michael Ma (Chinese: 馬榮錚; pinyin: Mǎ Róngzhēng[1]) is a Canadian politician who has served as a member of Parliament (MP) for Markham—Unionville since 2025. Currently a member of the Liberal Party, Ma was elected in the April 2025 federal election as a Conservative, then moved to the Liberal caucus in December 2025.
Ma was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12, residing in Vancouver, British Columbia.[2] He completed a BSc in computer science at the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the University of South Australia.
Political career
2019 federal election
Ma unsuccessfully ran in Don Valley East in the 2019 election as a Conservative, losing to incumbent Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi.
2025 federal election
Ma was appointed as the Conservative Party's candidate in Markham—Unionville on the day the general election was called.[3] He initially ran against incumbent Liberal MP Paul Chiang, who withdrew from the race after suggesting to a media outlet that a political opponent, Joe Tay, could be turned into the Chinese consulate in return for a bounty.[4] Chiang was replaced as the Liberal candidate by Peter Yuen. Ma ultimately defeated Yuen and flipped the seat for the Conservatives.[5]
45th Canadian Parliament
On December 11, 2025, Ma crossed the floor to join the governing Liberal caucus, citing the "steady, practical approach" of Prime Minister Mark Carney. At the time, the move put the Liberals within one seat of a majority government.[6][7] He was the second Conservative MP to cross to the Liberals in the 45th Parliament, after Chris d'Entremont of Acadie—Annapolis crossed the floor in November.[8]
In January 2026, Ma joined Prime Minister Mark Carney on his trip to China and Qatar.[9]
On the March 26, 2026, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, an academic and former civil servant who specialises in Canada–China relations, testified before a meeting of the Industry Committee, which was in the process of investigating the use of forced labour in China. Ma asked McCuaig-Johnston if she had ever personally witnessed the use of forced labour in Shenzhen, and if her testimony on the issue was based on hearsay. McCuaig-Johnston later criticised these questions, saying that Ma was "overall trying to undermine" her testimony. Ma later released a statement condemning "forced labour in all its forms", but declined to speak about China specifically.[10]
Electoral history
| 2025 Canadian federal election: Markham—Unionville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Ma | 27,055 | 50.65 | +8.22 | ||||
| Liberal | Peter Yuen | 25,133 | 47.05 | –1.18 | ||||
| New Democratic | Sameer Qureshi | 723 | 1.35 | –5.20 | ||||
| Green | Elvin Kao | 506 | 0.95 | –1.84 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | ||||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 53,417 | 64.13 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 83,289 | |||||||
| Conservative notional gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.70 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[11][12] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Yasmin Ratansi | 25,295 | 59.81 | +1.98 | $74,656.45 | |||
| Conservative | Michael Ma | 10,115 | 23.92 | -5.31 | $66,318.23 | |||
| New Democratic | Nicholas Thompson | 4,647 | 10.99 | +0.63 | none listed | |||
| Green | Dan Turcotte | 1,675 | 3.96 | +1.37 | $3,743.20 | |||
| People's | John P. Hendry | 562 | 1.33 | - | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 42,294 | 99.98 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 438 | 1.02 | +0.41 | |||||
| Turnout | 42,732 | 64.23 | -1.31 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 66,530 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +3.65 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13][14] | ||||||||
References
- ↑ https://www.muconservative.ca/%E7%B9%81%E9%AB%94
- ↑ Liu, Scarlet (April 29, 2025). "CANADA VOTES 2025: 'Markham—Unionville wants change': Conservative Michael Ma flips seat from Liberals". YorkRegion.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
- ↑ Nardi, Christopher; Taylor, Stephanie (December 11, 2025). "Toronto-area Conservative MP Michael Ma crosses floor to Liberals". National Post.
- ↑ Catherine Morrison (2025-12-11). "Another Conservative MP crosses the floor to join Liberal caucus". The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ Liu, Scarlet (April 29, 2025). "CANADA VOTES 2025: 'Markham—Unionville wants change': Conservative Michael Ma flips seat from Liberals". YorkRegion.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
- ↑ Major, Darren (December 11, 2025). "Another Conservative crosses the floor, bringing Liberals 1 MP shy of majority". CBC News. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ↑ Levitz, Stephanie; Curry, Bill (2025-12-11). "Ontario MP Michael Ma crosses floor to Liberals, putting party one seat short of majority". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ Yousif, Nadine (2025-12-12). "Conservative Michael Ma crosses floor to Canada's Liberals, putting Carney's government closer to majority". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ Nardi, Christopher (January 9, 2026). "Floor-crossing MP Michael Ma to join Carney on first trip to China". The National Post.
- ↑ McKenna, Kate (March 26, 2026). "Floor-crossing Liberal MP apologizes for behaviour in committee meeting about Chinese EVs". CBC News. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ↑ "Official Voting Results -". Elections Canada. Retrieved 8 August 2021.