The Liberal candidate picked to replace disgraced Liberal MP Paul Chiang in Markham–Unionville was videotaped singing a patriotic Chinese communist anthem and was a board member of a private school flagged in Canada’s recent foreign interference inquiry.
The Liberals nominated former Toronto Police Service deputy chief Peter Yuen to replace Chiang in his former riding after the disgraced Liberal MP suggested supporters turn in a Conservative opponent to the Chinese embassy in return for a bounty.
Videos have since emerged of Yuen singing “My Chinese Heart”, a Chinese communist patriotic song. The song has been frequently used by the People’s Republic of China to impose its nationalism onto minority communities. Buddhist monks were forced to sing the song to celebrate the 70th anniversary of communist China.
In the video, Yuen can be seen singing the patriotic anthem while in police regalia.
Yuen also joined the board of NOIC Academy in 2024, a private school flagged by Canada’s independent investigation into foreign interference, the Hogue Commission. NOIC Academy was cited by intelligence reports for suspected election meddling concerns.
The intelligence reports suggested that the Toronto Chinese Consulate pressured students by threatening their families in China if they didn’t vote for a preferred candidate in Don Valley North, the riding of Hong Kong dissident and Conservative candidate Joe Tay.
Yuen was brought in only after Chiang stepped down due to public backlash when reports emerged that he had suggested to Chinese media that anyone could kidnap Tay and take him to the Chinese consulate for a bounty.
Tay was born in Hong Kong, a region now under control by the CCP with increasingly limited freedoms, something that Tay has fought against publicly in the media.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa told True North that Tay was still wanted by authorities for allegedly “seriously violating Hong Kong’s national security laws” by “spreading anti-China, anti-Hong Kong political rumours.”
Markam-Unionville hosts a large Chinese community which comprises over 66% of the population according to the 2021 Canadian Census.