By Li Ting, Vision Times
Hong Kong-Canadian activist Joe Tay and former Liberal MP Paul Chiang are facing each other at the ballot box for the first time as voters choose four regional councillors in Markham’s 2026 municipal election. Online voting runs from Oct. 16 through Oct. 26, with 11 candidates certified for the four citywide regional councillor seats. Both Chiang and Tay appear on the official candidate list.
Their contest carries unusual political baggage from Canada’s 2025 federal election, when Tay was publicly identified by Canadian security officials as the target of a transnational-repression campaign.
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From Hong Kong bounty to Canada
Tay, a former Hong Kong entertainer who has lived in Canada for roughly 25 years, became an outspoken supporter of Hong Kong’s democracy movement after leaving the entertainment industry. In December 2024, Hong Kong police issued an arrest warrant for Tay under the city’s national security law and offered a HK$1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
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Months later, while Tay was seeking a Conservative nomination, Chiang, then the Liberal MP for Markham–Unionville, received heavy backlash after suggesting during a Chinese-language media event that Tay could be taken to the Chinese consulate to collect the bounty. Chiang later apologized and withdrew from the federal election race.
Tay then became the Conservative candidate in Don Valley North. During the campaign, Canada’s Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force said it had detected a coordinated transnational-repression operation targeting him across Chinese-language social-media platforms.
Officials said the activity included mock wanted posters, disparaging material and coordinated amplification designed to “discredit a candidate, silence criticism and dissent, and manipulate information that informs voters.”
Tay told Vision Times that the experience placed enormous pressure on him and his family. He said relatives in Hong Kong were questioned, bank accounts belonging to him and his wife were frozen, and his mother-in-law later sought asylum in Canada. He also said RCMP officers continue to warn him about potential threats.
Campaigning on policing, seniors, and taxes
For the Markham race, Tay said his campaign is focused on four areas: public safety, seniors, economic affordability and responding to constituents within 24 hours. Residents he met while canvassing repeatedly raised concerns about break-ins and community safety, he said.
Tay argued that York Region should increase police staffing and community patrols. He also wants expanded transportation services for seniors, saying existing on-demand options are too limited in both hours and geographic reach. His concern is personal, he said, as his own mother is now 93.
He also criticized property-tax increases that he said have exceeded inflation. “If property taxes are rising faster than inflation, then if I’m elected, I need to find ways to increase revenue and cut expenses,” Tay said, adding that rather than relying primarily on tax increases, York Region should push the Ontario government for a larger share of provincial funding.
His other priorities include expanded youth mental-health services and a commitment to answer constituent requests within 24 hours. “The most important thing is speed; you have to respond to people,” he said.
The Bureau backs Tay
Canadian investigative outlet The Bureau took the unusual step of endorsing Tay on Oct. 13, saying it had never previously endorsed a political candidate. The publication framed its decision around what it described as a broader question: What responsibility Canada bears when a citizen is targeted by a foreign government.
Its endorsement followed earlier reporting on the threats and pressure Tay faced during the 2025 federal campaign. Chinese-language political commentator Gongzi Shen said communities with large Chinese populations remain vulnerable to influence efforts connected to Beijing and argued that victims of transnational repression still lack adequate channels for assistance.
Writer and longtime China critic Sheng Xue likewise said she does not believe Beijing will abandon efforts to influence Canadian political life, though stronger safeguards may limit what foreign actors can accomplish. Those concerns come against the backdrop of Canada’s Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference.
Concerns over foreign interference
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue’s final report, released in January 2025, concluded that foreign interference was a genuine and persistent threat to Canadian democracy, identifying China as the most active state actor and India as the second most active. The inquiry found interference occurred during the 2019 and 2021 federal elections but did not change their overall results.
Canada also confirmed separately that Tay was subjected to a PRC-linked digital transnational-repression operation during the 2025 election. Charles Jiang, vice president of the Canadian Values Alliance, told Vision Times that voters should look beyond campaign platforms and examine candidates’ broader records.
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