Arnold Chan (June 10, 1967 – September 14, 2017) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Scarborough—Agincourt in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2014 by-election. Chan was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Arnold Chan | |
|---|---|
陳家諾 | |
 Chan in 2016 | |
| Member of Parliament for Scarborough—Agincourt | |
| In office June 30, 2014 – September 14, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Karygiannis |
| Succeeded by | Jean Yip |
| Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons | |
| In office December 2, 2015 – September 14, 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Scott Reid |
| Succeeded by | Chris Bittle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 10, 1967 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | September 14, 2017 (aged 50) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Cause of death | Nasopharyngeal cancer[1] |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Jean Yip |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Profession |
|
Education
Arnold attended Henry Kelsey Senior Public School, Sir Ernest MacMillan Senior Public School and Dr Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute, Chan studied at the University of Toronto, earning an undergraduate and two master's degrees in political science and urban planning, before obtaining a law degree from the University of British Columbia.[2]
Early career
Prior to his election, Chan worked as a lawyer and, for a time, for the Ontario government as chief of staff to Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan and then as senior aide to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.[3][4]
Federal politics
Chan won the Liberal nomination for Scarborough—Agincourt after incumbent Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis resigned to run for Toronto City Council. He was elected to Parliament with 59 per cent of the vote in a by-election held in 2014.
While in opposition, Chan served as Liberal critic for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, and critic for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. In November 2014, he became critic for Tourism and Small Business.[5]
On January 22, 2015, Chan revealed to the public that he would take a five-week leave of absence while undergoing treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer.[6][7] Upon his return, he resumed his role and criticized the Harper government's partisan use of public advertising, and their lack of promotion of Canada in the global tourism market.[8]
Following the Liberal victory in the October 2015 federal election, Chan became Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.[9] Chan was known for his advocacy on behalf of the Armenian Canadian community, and chaired the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group.[10] Chan hosted Garo Paylan, an ethnic-Armenian Member of the Turkish Parliament and advocate for minorities in Turkey, when Paylan visited the Parliament of Canada in May 2017.
In his final speech to the House of Commons on June 12, 2017, Chan urged fellow MPs to rise above partisanship and improve the level of debate in Parliament,[11] saying "I am not sure how many more times I will have the strength to get up and do a 20-minute speech in this place, but the point I want to impart to all of us is that I know we are all honourable members, I know members revere this place, and I would beg us to not only act as honourable members but to treat this institution honourably," adding "I would ask all of us to elevate our debate, to elevate our practice."[1]
Personal life
Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2014. After going into remission following treatment in 2015, the disease recurred in 2016.[12] Chan died on September 14, 2017, at the age of 50.[1]
Chan had three sons with his wife Jean Yip.[1][10] Yip won a December 11, 2017 by-election for Chan's former seat.[13]
Chan was the older brother of physician Kevin Chan.
Electoral record
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Scarborough—Agincourt | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Arnold Chan | 21,587 | 51.95 | +6.38 | $70,985.90 | |||
| Conservative | Bin Chang | 15,802 | 38.03 | +3.88 | $81,000.27 | |||
| New Democratic | Laura Thomas Patrick | 3,263 | 7.85 | -10.14 | $3,832.40 | |||
| Green | Debra Scott | 570 | 1.37 | -0.92 | – | |||
| Christian Heritage | Jude Coutinho | 334 | 0.80 | – | $621.16 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 41,556 | 99.41 | $203,566.74 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 248 | 0.59 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 41,804 | 59.42 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,355 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +1.25 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15] | ||||||||
| Canadian federal by-election, June 30, 2014: Scarborough—Agincourt Resignation of Jim Karygiannis | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Arnold Chan | 12,868 | 59.38 | +13.98 | ||||
| Conservative | Trevor Ellis | 6,344 | 29.27 | −4.91 | ||||
| New Democratic | Elizabeth Ying Long | 1,838 | 8.48 | −9.62 | ||||
| Independent | Kevin Clarke | 315 | 1.45 | - | ||||
| Green | Shahbaz Mir | 307 | 1.42 | −0.90 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 21,672 | 99.44 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 121 | 0.56 | −0.09 | |||||
| Turnout | 21,793 | 29.43 | −26.60 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 74,062 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +9.45 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[16] | ||||||||