Vincent Ke
Vincent Ke | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
柯文彬 | |||||||||||
.jpg) Ke in 2019 | |||||||||||
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Don Valley North | |||||||||||
| In office June 7, 2018 – January 28, 2025 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Riding established | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Tsao | ||||||||||
| Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery | |||||||||||
| In office June 29, 2022 – March 10, 2023 | |||||||||||
| Minister | Kaleed Rasheed | ||||||||||
| Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries (Culture and Sport) | |||||||||||
| In office June 26, 2019 – June 1, 2022 | |||||||||||
| Minister | Lisa MacLeod | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | |||||||||||
| Party | Independent | ||||||||||
Other political affiliations | Progressive Conservative (until 2023) | ||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||
| Education | Fuzhou University Ruhr University Bochum | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician | ||||||||||
| Website | vincentkempp | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 柯文彬 | ||||||||||
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Wenbin "Vincent" Ke (Chinese: 柯文彬) is a Canadian politician who was a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario, representing the riding of Don Valley North from 2018 until 2025. Originally elected as a Progressive Conservative (PC), he stepped down from the caucus on March 10, 2023 following allegations of involvement in Chinese government election interference. He is the second mainland-Chinese Canadian immigrant elected as a PC MPP.
Background
Ke was born in Quanzhou, Fujian, China, and immigrated to Canada in 1998. He holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from Fuzhou University in China and a Master's from Ruhr University in Germany. Prior to his election, Ke worked for Conec—a German firm which has sites in Shanghai and Brampton—from 1999 to 2018; his role with the company was as an electronic engineer. Ke is also registered as an insurance agent by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.
Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), the province's regulatory body for engineers, instructed Ke to stop using the title of engineer following complaints that he was doing so without being licensed as a professional engineer with PEO.
Political career
Ke ran in the 2018 provincial election as a PC candidate, and defeated Liberal candidate Shelley Carroll to be elected MPP in Don Valley North. He was appointed as the parliamentary assistant to the minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture industries (culture and sport) on June 26, 2019.
During the 2022 provincial election, Ke and seven other PC MPPs were identified as having received an allowance from their PC riding associations, with Ke expensing meals, entertainment, gas and parking. While allowed by provincial law, federal politicians are prohibited from doing the same, raising questions about aligning provincial and federal allowance rules. Ke defeated Liberal Jonathan Tsao to win a second term, and was appointed as the parliamentary assistant to the minister of public and business service delivery on June 29, 2022.
Allegations of Chinese government interference
Ke's ties to the Chinese consulate were questioned by National Post writer Tom Blackwell in a 2019 article. In particular, Blackwell reported that Ke maintained ties with groups linked to the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department. Blackwell provided Ke's office with a list of questions about his connections to the Chinese government including the possibility he joined the Chinese Communist Party, his ties with the Chinese consulate and a 2013 trip to China for a government-run workshop. In response, Ke's office said that he was "honoured to be a part of Doug Ford’s government" and that he would focus on "ensuring a strong voice for the constituents of Don Valley North at Queen’s Park". Premier Doug Ford's office also provided a response, stating that "MPP Ke is an important part of the Progressive Conservative caucus and represents his constituents with their best interests in mind".
In a 2021 article, Blackwell criticized Ke for seeming "over-eager to defend China, rather than being too worried about anti-Chinese hate," after Ke and Scarborough—Agincourt MPP Aris Babikian spoke out about a sign at a Chinese physician's office describing COVID-19 as "Wuhan pneumonia" in Chinese.
On March 10, 2023, Global News reported that Ke served as a financial intermediary for the Chinese consulate as part of election interference efforts. Ke denied the allegations and resigned from the Ontario PC caucus on the same day, so that he would not be a "distraction to the government and take away from the good work Premier Ford is doing for the province of Ontario". Ford's office stated that "While the allegations against Mr. Ke are not proven, they are serious and deserve his full and undivided attention as he works to clear his name". Ford later said "I have confidence that his name will be cleared", and that he would welcome Ke back into caucus if that occurred.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had previously briefed Ford's chief of staff in November 2022 about Ke, which Ford described as sparse and "very secretive".
In April 2023, Ke said that he had served Global News with a libel notice concerning their reporting about him.
2025 election
Ke was not readmitted to caucus and ran in the 2025 Ontario general election as an independent candidate, but was unsuccessful. Liberal Jonathan Tsao was elected with Ke placing third behind PC candidate Sue Liu; Ke's vote total was greater than Tsao's margin of victory over Liu.
Electoral record
| 2025 Ontario general election: Don Valley North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Jonathan Tsao | 13,375 | 43.77 | +6.94 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sue Liu | 11,484 | 37.58 | –9.82 | ||||
| Independent | Vincent Ke | 3,005 | 9.83 | –37.57 | ||||
| New Democratic | Ebrahim Astaraki | 1,562 | 5.11 | –4.76 | ||||
| Green | Andrew Armstrong | 784 | 2.57 | –1.15 | ||||
| New Blue | Annie Nolan | 346 | 1.13 | –1.04 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 30,556 | 99.29 | ||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 219 | 0.71 | +0.13 | |||||
| Turnout | 30,775 | 38.04 | –2.72 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 80,903 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing |  8.38 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario | ||||||||
| 2022 Ontario general election: Don Valley North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Vincent Ke | 15,041 | 47.41 | +2.97 | $61,647 | |||
| Liberal | Jonathan Tsao | 11,685 | 36.83 | +5.91 | $88,913 | |||
| New Democratic | Ebrahim Astaraki | 3,133 | 9.87 | –11.00 | $16,187 | |||
| Green | Ostap Soroka | 1,179 | 3.72 | +1.16 | $823 | |||
| New Blue | Jay Sobel | 690 | 2.17 | – | $924 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 31,728 | 99.42 | – | $109,620 | ||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 185 | 0.58 | –0.40 | |||||
| Turnout | 31,913 | 40.76 | –13.05 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 78,300 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing |  1.47 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario | ||||||||
| 2018 Ontario general election: Don Valley North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Vincent Ke | 18,046 | 44.44 | +11.76 | ||||
| Liberal | Shelley Carroll | 12,557 | 30.92 | –21.68 | ||||
| New Democratic | Akil Sadikali | 8,476 | 20.87 | +9.92 | ||||
| Green | Janelle Yanishewski | 1,039 | 2.56 | –0.85 | ||||
| Libertarian | Sarah Matthews | 287 | 0.71 | – | ||||
| None of the Above | Alexander Verstraten | 202 | 0.50 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 40,607 | 99.02 | ||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 403 | 0.98 | ||||||
| Turnout | 41,010 | 53.81 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 76,211 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative notional gain from Liberal | Swing | +16.72 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario | ||||||||
References
- ↑ 當谷北選區 柯文彬成第2位進省議會中國移民 [Don Valley North: Vincent Ke becomes second immigrant from China to be elected to legislature] (in Traditional Chinese). Ming Pao. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
- ↑ 《高端访谈》对话安省保守党省议员候选人 – 柯文彬, 28 May 2018, retrieved 2020-01-03
- 1 2 3 Blackwell, Tom (September 19, 2019). "Regulator looks at Ontario MPP after accusations he improperly claimed to be an engineer". National Post. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Blackwell, Tom (September 6, 2019). "MPP's ties to China raise questions about how close Canadian politicians should get to foreign powers". National Post. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Agents Licensed in Ontario". alias2a.fsco.gov.on.ca. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ↑ Winsa, Patty (June 7, 2018). "PC's Vincent Ke takes Don Valley North". Toronto Star.
- ↑ "Premier Ford Announces Parliamentary Assistant Assignments as Part of Ontario's Government for the People" (Press release). Office of the Premier. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- 1 2 D'Mello, Colin (May 10, 2022). "8 Ontario PC MPPs received 'allowance' from party coffers". Global News. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ↑ "Ontario NDP promise to ban MPP allowances from party donors". Global News. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- 1 2 "Ontario election 2025 results: Don Valley North". Global News. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
- ↑ "Premier Doug Ford Unveils Parliamentary Assistants". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ↑ Blackwell, Tom (April 29, 2021). "'Wuhan pneumonia': Ontario MPPs urge Chinese-Canadian doctor to remove 'divisive' sign". National Post. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ↑ Cooper, Sam (March 10, 2023). "Ontario legislature member is part of alleged Beijing 2019 election-interference network: sources". Global News. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- 1 2 Stone, Laura (2023-03-10). "Progressive Conservative MPP Vincent Ke leaves caucus after allegations of election interference". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- 1 2 Stone, Laura (2023-03-21). "Doug Ford says his office received CSIS briefing about Toronto MPP Vincent Ke". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
- ↑ The Canadian Press (2023-04-14). "Vincent Ke serves Global News with libel notice over allegations of election interference". CBC News. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "2025 General Election - Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. Retrieved September 11, 2026.
- ↑ Ontario. Chief Electoral Officer (2025). 2023 & 2024 By-Elections / 2025 General Election: Election Returns with Statistics from the Record (PDF) (Report). Elections Ontario. ISSN 0847-3927. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2026.
- ↑ "2022 General Election - Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. Retrieved September 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18.
- ↑ Ontario. Chief Electoral Officer (2023). Annual Report 2022-23 (PDF) (Report). Elections Ontario.
- ↑ "2018 General Election - Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. Retrieved September 11, 2026.
- ↑ Ontario. Chief Electoral Officer (2018). 2018 General Election: Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate (PDF) (Report). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Ontario. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). Annual Report 2018-2019 (PDF) (Report). Elections Ontario.
Notes
- ↑ Known as Tourism, Culture and Sport before October 31, 2019.