Raymond Chan (politician)

Born in Hong Kong in 1951,^[3][1] Chan emigrated to Canada in 1969,^[2] 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,^[2][4] then worked as an engineer for TRIUMF, a particle accelerator laboratory at UBC, until 1993.^[5][6]

Chan joined the Liberal Party of Canada in 1991 after serving as the inaugural president of the Vancouver Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China.^[1] He was nominated as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Richmond over future cabinet colleague Herb Dhaliwal, who subsequently chose to run in the adjacent Vancouver South riding.^[4] He then defeated defence minister and incumbent Progressive Conservative candidate Tom Siddon in the 1993 election,^[3] becoming the third Chinese Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons after Douglas Jung in 1957, and Art Lee in 1974. He was subsequently 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.^[3]

He was re-elected in Richmond in the 1997 election, and retained his post as Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific Region before losing to Joe Peschisolido of the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 election.^[3][7] He joined the private sector following his defeat, serving as president of Global Business Development Inc.^[1] After Peschisolido crossed the floor to the Liberal Party in 2002, Chan battled Peschisolido for the Liberal nomination, and won it after a fiercely contested race.^[8][9] He returned to Parliament in the 2004 election by defeating Conservative candidate Alice Wong and New Democratic Party candidate Dale Jackaman,^[7] and was subsequently appointed to the cabinet by Prime Minister Paul Martin as the Minister of State (Multiculturalism) for the Department of Heritage.^[3]

Chan was re-elected in 2006;^[7] with the Liberals forming the official opposition, Chan served variously as critic for the Canada Border Services, social economy, and the Asia-Pacific region in the 39th Parliament.^[3] In a rematch against Alice Wong and Dale Jackaman in the 2008 election, he lost to Wong by more than 8,000 votes.^[7][10] He then sought nomination as a Richmond Liberal again in 2009,^[11] but lost to Peschisolido.^[12] He has been a major fundraiser for political candidates since leaving office.^[13]