Another Liberal MP Jumps Ship

• June 17 2019

Geng Tan won’t be running again, an announcement that came as a surprise considering he had already been nominated.

In a surprise announcement, Liberal MP Geng Tan – who was elected for the first time in 2015 – has announced he won’t be running again.

Tan says he’s going to spend more time with his family.

In 2015, Tan won 51.4% of the vote in the riding of Don Valley North, a constituency that is expected to be closely contest this year.

Here’s what Tan said on Facebook:

“After much consideration, I have come to conclusion that time has now come to spend more time with family and pursue other careers. I have notified the Whip that I will not run for re-election in the fall.

As a first generation immigrant, I came to politics with a passion and a desire to help people and serve all Canadians and the country. I want to thank the Liberal Party of Canada and its leader Justin Trudeau, and constituents of Don Valley North for providing me with the opportunity to serve the country over the past four years. I am happy that Canada is moving on the right track and direction under the current Government. I am delighted to have been part of the team to accomplish so many achievements.

I want specially to thank my wife Laura, family, all supporters and great volunteers, and the community, for their firm and unwavering encouragement and support, ever since the start of my nomination campaign five years ago. I am extremely proud of them!

I am very grateful to my wonderful dedicated staff who worked very hard and gained a great reputation in promptly serving constituents with extraordinary quality. I and my staff will continue to serve the people of Don Valley North till the end of this term.”

Past controversy

Very friendly with the Communist Chinese government

Tan’s time in office has not been without controversy.

In January 2018, it was reported that Tan had acted as an intermediary for an individual who was under investigation by the RCMP, the Ontario Securities Commission, and the Chinese government in relation to a pyramid scheme estimated at $466 million.

“Tan’s office admitted that he contacted Chinese authorities regarding the Gong case. Notably, Gong has given “$7,000 to the Liberal Party over the past few years, and was at a Liberal fundraiser involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese-Canadian business people in Toronto in May, 2016.”

The report also noted that “Since the 2015 election, Mr. Tan has travelled frequently to China, where he has met Communist Party officials whose goal is to win overseas support for the authoritarian government’s political agenda.”

Liberals lacking confidence?

Tan is not the first Liberal MP who has decided not to run. Indeed, the growing number of Lib MPs who aren’t seeking re-election is reminiscent of the flood of Conservative MPs who jumped ship in 2015. That is often a sign that people are seeing negative things on the ground in their ridings. That tracks with Trudeau’s low popularity numbers, and shows that the Liberals may be lacking confidence as the election nears.