Kevin Vuong
Kevin Vuong is a Canadian former politician who was the Member of Parliament for Spadina—Fort York from 2021 to 2025.
Initially nominated as a Liberal candidate at the start of the 2021 Canadian federal election campaign, Vuong's candidacy gained nation-wide negative press attention in the final four days of the election campaign when a withdrawn sexual assault charge from 2019 emerged. The Liberal Party of Canada formally withdrew its endorsement two days prior to election day for Vuong's repeated misrepresentations concealing the charge during to party operatives. Given the lateness of the decision, Vuong remained listed as the Liberal candidate on the ballot.
He was elected and sat as an independent MP for the duration of the 44th Canadian Parliament and faced periodic calls for his resignation. He joined the Conservative Party in November 2023, and publicly indicated his wish to sit with the Conservative caucus and run under that party's banner in the 2025 federal election. However, the party declined to allow him to sit in caucus and he did not seek re-election in 2025.
Background
Vuong's ethnic Chinese parents immigrated to Canada as Vietnam War refugees. He grew up in Brampton, Ontario. In high school, Vuong was mentored by Ivey Business School students, who inspired him to study finance at the University of Western Ontario.Early profile building
Prior to seeking public office, Vuong participated in various organizations that provided him with opportunities to seek press coverage.Vuong participated in events associated with the 2013 G20 Saint Petersburg summit as a member of Canada's youth delegation. He led the youth summit's working groups for international financial regulation and infrastructure development and presented to Russian president Vladimir Putin and selected G20 leaders on the topic of global tax havens. This followed Putin's 2012 return to the presidency through widespread falsification of elections and censorship. In 2014, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named Putin their Person of the Year, award to the worst offender among political leaders for enabling and furthering corruption. In November 2020, Vuong was named a NATO 2030 Young Leader, a group assembled for providing input to the NATO 2030 initiative launch by Secretary General Jens Soltenburg in response to the increasing threats to security caused by Russia.
Vuong was a member of the Toronto Youth Cabinet, a volunteer organization for engaging youth in local government. He held himself out as a co-chair of the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy, a City of Toronto initiative that operated by city staff between 2014 and 2017, in various public discourse, though none of Toronto Youth Equity Strategy documents released by the city listed him as such. The Strategy's 2017 report acknowledged various contributors by name, but Vuong was not among those acknowledged in the report.
His service in the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve, much touted during his two electoral bids, would compound the controversy he later faced. He joined the reserve in 2015, and by the time of his 2021 federal bid was serving in the public affairs branch at York in the OF-1 rank of sub-lieutenant, the most junior officer rank. Per Queen's Regulations and Orders, Chapter 19 Conduct & Discipline, Canadian Armed Forces members who have been arrested by civil authority are required to report the arrest to their commanding officer. The Royal Canadian Navy charged Vuong in February 2022, for conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline under the National Defence Act for the non-disclosure of 2019 sexual assault charge to his chain of command. Vuong chose to face a summary trial instead of a general court-martial. He admitted the particulars underlying the charge, was found guilty and given a fine of $500 in July 2022.
Political career
2018 Toronto City Council bid
Vuong ran for Toronto City Council during the 2018 municipal election. He started campaigning for Ward 20, the southern half of Spadina—Fort York, early and was emerging as the leading Liberal candidate, with TDSB trustee Ausma Malik as the primary rival back by the local NDP establishment. The dynamic of the contest changed following the provincial election that year, with defeated local Liberal MPP Han Dong entered the city race in late July. Dong was previously supportive of Vuong's bid, but was urged by local Liberals who believe his higher profile combined with his ready campaign team a surer bet against the NDP-back candidate. With the local NDP team united behind Malik, it was unlikely for another candidate to win unless the local Liberals also coalesce around a single candidate. Dong urged Vuong to yield given his higher profile and seniority. Upset at Dong's entrance and the subsequent defections of his team members to Dong, Vuong rebuffed Dong in a public and disparaging manner. Vuong would later said there was "no love loss" between him and Dong.The strained relationship was ultimately for naught. Newly elected Ontario Premier Doug Ford in a surprised move legislated to reduce the number of seats from 47 to 25 in late July, causing contest realignments across the city. Following that decision, Dong and Malik both exited the contest, leaving Vuong to competed for the newly constituted Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York against incumbent councillor Joe Cressy, one of the highest profile NDP-affiliated councillors in the city. In a repeat of his fallout with Dong, Vuong claimed in the right-wing press the Toronto Sun that a belligerent Cressy pressured him to withdraw with veiled threats to his political career. Vuong subsequently received an endorsement from Toronto Sun.
Vuong placed 3rd in that election with 10.5% of the vote, against Cressy's 55%.
2021 Canadian federal election
Shortly before the 2021 Canadian federal election campaign was to commence, Liberal friendly press the Toronto Star reported that Vuong was expected to be tapped by the Liberal Party of Canada as the candidate for Spadina—Fort York following incumbent MP Adam Vaughan's surprise announcement of his retirement. Despite having no previous involvement with the party, the Liberals announced that he was acclaimed the candidate on 13 August.Non-disclosure of legal troubles
On 1 September 2021, The Globe and Mail and other media outlets reported that Vuong was involved in a $1.5 million lawsuit filed against him related to a mask making business, TakeCare Supply. The claimant in the case alleged that after the business experience explosive growth Vuong and another business partner refused to acknowledge her as a partner of the venture and only paid her as a vendor. On 10 September 2024, the Toronto Star and CBC News reported that this lawsuit was settled moments before it was to go to trial, on confidential terms. Liberal Party officials defended Vuong during the ordeal.On 16 September 2021 the Toronto Star reported that that Vuong had been charged with sexual assault in 2019 and that the charges were withdrawn by the crown seven month later. Vuong "unequivocally state that these allegations are false". As part of the Liberal party's candidate vetting process, prospective candidates are required to disclose all legal proceedings they were part of. It was later revealed that Vuong disclosed neither the business lawsuit nor the withdrawn charges in his candidate application or during his vetting interviews, and that he has submitted a criminal record check obtained from a police agency other than the Toronto Police Service. In managing the press coverage of the business lawsuit just weeks earlier, party officials specifically asked him again for any other legal concerns he may have omitted previously, and he "point blank lied" according to his campaign chair.
Reactions
The following day in Windsor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party, responded to the report indicating that the party was not aware of the sexual assault charges and that "e are looking into it very carefully and we have asked the candidate to pause his campaign". The vagueness of the response was seized upon by opposition leaders. Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, which was the primary challenger in the Spadina—Fort York electoral district, said that Vuong had either "lied" to the Liberals, or the party knew about them anyway and was putting his ambitions "over the lives and well-being of women". Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole said, "Justin Trudeau must do the right thing and immediately fire this candidate and confirm that, if elected, this candidate will not sit in the Liberal caucus".On 17 September, the Department of National Defence announced that the military would also review Vuong's file, as Vuong had failed to share the criminal charge with his chain of command.
On 18 September, the Liberal Party announced its withdrawal of endorsement for Vuong, and that he would not be a member of the Liberal caucus if elected.
Election victory and subsequent calls for resignation
Vuong's controversy gave rise to the unprecedent situation of a frontrunning candidate being on the ballot as a candidate for a party that had withdrawn its endorsement. Political parties had in some rare occasions withdrew their endorsement after the close of nomination, but almost always in electoral districts where they have no real prospect of winning. The confusion were evident in the many long lineup at polling stations, compounded the already chaotic situation in the downtown district, where the returning officer reduced the number of polling stations to 15.Vuong emerged victorious despite the controversy, as his campaign had secured a substantial margin of over 4,400 votes from mail-in ballots and advance polls. Of the ballots cast on election day, Vuong was out-polled by the NDP candidate Norm Di Pasquale by over 2,200 votes. He was the only MP elected in Toronto who was out-polled of the ballots cast on election day. Some Spadina-Fort York constituents who cast their ballots before hearing about Vuong's charges said they would have voted differently with some signing a petition requesting a by-election, while others defended Vuong's right to stay in office as the charges were dropped.
On 22 September, two days following the federal election, Vuong announced his intention to take his seat in parliament as an Independent to "work hard to earn trust" and he intended to address his sexual assault allegations "at a later date more wholly in a dedicated forum", subsequently participating in an interview with John Moore on CFRB. Vuong added that "allegations of sexual assault are a serious matter, deserving of more discussion than this statement can provide." Vuong later deleted the tweet containing the statement.
His statement triggered an avalanche negative responses, with calls for his resignation from constituents, his own campaign team, and senior Liberal figures who campaigned for him recently. Ontario Liberal Party leader Steven Del Duca, who canvassed with Vuong two days before the allegations surfaced, called for Vuong to "examine his conscience" to see if he could credibly take his seat even as an independent given the circumstances of the allegation. Adam Vaughan, Vuong's predecessor who's recommendation secured Vuong's uncontested Liberal nomination, also called for Vuong to resign as he could not honourably take up a "compromised seat" that he had won via "a compromised victory". While it is customary for an outgoing officeholder to confer with their successor after an election, Vaughan refused to meet with Vuong to discuss "certain sensitive cases and would instead ask ministers or neighbouring MPs to take them forward".