A renowned member of the Agincourt community in Toronto, Canada, Harry Tsai (蔡承志), is seeking a seat in the Canadian Parliament, making him the first Taiwanese-Canadian to run for a legislative position in Canada.
The Central News Agency reported that Canada’s Progressive Conservative Party, noting Tsai’s active presence in Agincourt and the large number of ethnic minorities in the area, invited Tsai to represent the party and run against the Liberal Party.
At a rally held at the Formosa Evergreen Senior Citizens Center on Friday, Tsai received warm support and reception from Taiwanese living in Canada. Supporters cheered “Get elected! Get elected” during the event in the hope that Tsai would make history and become the first Taiwanese-Canadian to participate in Canadian politics at the legislative level.
Tsai’s father, Tsai Ching (蔡青) also took part in the rally.
It is about time that Taiwanese-Canadians start participating in Canada’s politics, his father said.
A graduate from the University of Waterloo and a holder of a master’s degree in economics, Tsai is running in the Scarborough--Agincourt area, generally viewed as a solid constituency for the -Liberal Party. The Agincourt representative in parliament has been from the Liberal Party for the past 23 years.
Although the Progressive Conservative Party is the ruling party, it is a minority government and suffered a defeat when the Liberal Party moved for a vote of no confidence on March 25. The motion led to the dissolution of parliament. The election is slated to take place on May 2.
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