Han Dong (politician)


Han Dong is a Chinese-Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Don Valley North in the 2019 federal election as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was the Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Trinity—Spadina from 2014 until 2018.

Background

Dong was born in Shanghai, China. He moved to Toronto with his family when he was 13 and they settled in the Parkdale area of Toronto. He lives in Toronto with his wife Sophie and their two children.
Dong worked as marketing director of Chianti Foods and then with the non-profit Canada Shanghai Business Association. Since making the switch to politics, he spent nine years at Queen’s Park serving as Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Gerry Phillips's MPP liaison, and most recently as a senior adviser of community outreach under then Citizenship and Immigration Minister Michael Coteau.

Politics

Provincial

Dong ran in the 2014 provincial election as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Trinity—Spadina. He defeated New Democrat incumbent Rosario Marchese by 9,175 votes.
He was Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
In February 2016, he introduced a private member's bill to license and regulate the Ontario home inspection industry, which prompted the Ontario Liberal government to draft its own government legislation for that purpose.
In March 2017 Dong introduced another private member's bill, the Reliable Elevators Act, setting time limits on repairs of elevators in residential buildings. The bill was successfully passed. Dong noted the hardship out of service elevators posed to the elderly, and to parents whose children required strollers.
In the 2018 provincial election, Dong was defeated by New Democratic candidate Chris Glover in the redistributed riding of Spadina—Fort York.

Municipal

Dong registered as a candidate in the Toronto municipal election, to represent Ward 20 on Toronto City Council. After the number of wards in the city was reduced from 47 to 25, Dong did not refile his candidacy by the September 21, 2018 deadline and was thus deemed to have withdrawn.

Federal

On July 4, 2019, Dong confirmed his candidacy for the federal Liberal nomination in Don Valley North following the retirement of incumbent MP Geng Tan.

Electoral record