Jenny Kwan

For the American actress, see Jennie Kwan.

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MP (Chinese: 關慧貞; born 1967) is a Canadian politician who is the member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver East. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Kwan was elected to the House of Commons in 2015.

Jenny Kwan MP
Kwan in 2021
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Libby Davies
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
In office May 28, 1996 – August 4, 2015
Preceded by	Mike Harcourt
Succeeded by	Melanie Mark
British Columbia Minister of Community Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers
In office February 29, 2000 – June 5, 2001
Premier	Ujjal Dosanjh
Preceded by	Jan Pullinger
Succeeded by	George Abbott
British Columbia Minister of Women's Equality
In office July 21, 1999 – February 24, 2000
Premier	Glen Clark Dan Miller
Preceded by	Penny Priddy
Succeeded by	Evelyn Gillespie
British Columbia Minister of Municipal Affairs
In office February 18, 1998 – July 21, 1999
Premier	Glen Clark
Preceded by	Michael Farnworth
Succeeded by	Jim Doyle
Personal details
Born	1967 (age 56–57) British Hong Kong
Political party	New Democratic
Residence	Vancouver[1]
Alma mater	Simon Fraser University (BA)
Website	www.jennykwanndp.ca
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	關慧貞
Simplified Chinese	关慧贞
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guān Huìzhēn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Gwaan1 Wai6-zing1

She was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), representing Vancouver-Mount Pleasant from 1996 to 2015 with the British Columbia (BC) NDP, and was a provincial cabinet minister from 1998 to 2001. Kwan entered politics in 1993, when she was elected to the Vancouver City Council.

Background

Kwan immigrated to Canada at age nine with her family from British Hong Kong.^[2] She speaks English, French, and Cantonese.

Kwan graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology.^[2] She started her career as a community legal advocate in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside before entering politics.^[2]

Political career

Municipal politics (1993–1996)

In 1993, Kwan at age 26 was elected as the youngest-ever member of Vancouver City Council. She was the sole representative of the Coalition of Progressive Electors throughout her term on council.^[2]

Provincial politics (1996–2015)

In the 1996 British Columbia general election, Kwan entered provincial politics. After being nominated, she was elected as the MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, in East Vancouver. She succeeded Premier Mike Harcourt, who at the time had just resigned over a series of serious fundraising scandals, including Bingogate.

In 2001, Kwan, along with Joy MacPhail, was one of only two NDP MLAs to survive the party's electoral collapse in the 2001 British Columbia general election due to a BC Liberal landslide upset.^[3][4] She was re-elected in 2005, 2009, and 2013.^[5]

Leadership controversy, December 2010

In December 2010, Kwan released a statement to the media criticizing NDP leader Carole James, and calling for an immediate leadership convention, after party candidates suffered defeat in the 2009 election.^[4][6][7] In response to Kwan's statement, James called an emergency caucus session to address opposition to her continued leadership.^[8][9] Before the caucus meeting was held, however, James announced her resignation as party leader.^[10][11] While Kwan was accused of self-interest, at the time she claimed to have no plans to run for the leadership of the party.^[12]

Portland Hotel Society controversy, March 2014

In March 2014, an audit of the Portland Hotel Society showed that Kwan's ex-husband, Dan Small, had improperly expensed the cost of a family Disneyland trip to the society.^[13][14] At the time of the trip, Kwan had still been married to Small and had participated in the trip with their children.^[15] When the audit became public, Kwan held a press conference where she denied any knowledge that the society had paid for the trip, and said she would reimburse the society.^[16] Following the conference, Kwan took a brief leave of absence.^[17]

Member of Parliament (2015–present)

In January 2015, Kwan announced her plan to seek the NDP nomination in Vancouver East for the forthcoming federal election.^[18] Mable Elmore, Kwan's legislative colleague from Vancouver-Kensington, was also seeking the party's nomination in the riding.^[19] Kwan was nominated on March 22, and sought to succeed Libby Davies as the MP for the riding; Davies had served as its NDP MP since 1997,^[20][21] and the riding had voted for the NDP or its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, in all but two elections since it was first contested in 1935.

She was elected to the House of Commons in October 2015, defeating candidates Edward Wong (Liberal) and James Low (Conservative) by wide margins.^[22] On November 12, NDP leader Tom Mulcair appointed her to be the party's critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship.^[23] She was re-elected in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. On May 12, 2023, it was reported that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service approached Kwan about a meeting concerning Chinese diplomats threatening her.^[24][25]

Electoral record

Federal

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Vancouver East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	27,969	56.4		$70,443.58
	Liberal	Josh Vander Vies	9,797	19.8		$41,387.88
	Conservative	Mauro Francis	5,399	10.9		$9,491.11
	Green	Cheryl Matthew	3,826	7.7		$5,835.22
	People's	Karin Litzcke	1,382	2.8		$3,823.14
	Libertarian	Gölök Buday	831	1.7		$0.00
	Communist	Natasha Hale	387	0.8		$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			45,591	–	–	$119,373.85
Total rejected ballots			528
Turnout
Eligible voters
Source: Elections Canada[26]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Vancouver East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	29,236	52.6	+2.66	$86,021.45
	Liberal	Kyle Demes	10,085	18.1	-10.06	$25,852.88
	Green	Bridget Burns	8,062	14.5	+5.31	$51,975.81
	Conservative	Chris Corsetti	6,724	12.1	+1.33	$4,528.19
	People's	Karin Litzcke	679	1.2	–	$7,718.34
	Libertarian	Gölök Z. Buday	562	1.0	–	$182.20
	Communist	Peter Marcus	177	0.3	-0.59	$476.56
	Marxist–Leninist	Anne Jamieson	86	0.2	-0.16	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			55,611	100.0
Total rejected ballots			537
Turnout			56,148	61.1
Eligible voters			91,951
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+6.36
Source: Elections Canada[27][28]

2015 Canadian federal election: Vancouver East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	29,316	49.94	-12.89	$107,948.45
	Liberal	Edward Wong	16,532	28.16	+18.25	$103,236.57
	Conservative	James Low	6,322	10.77	-8.13	$10,430.75
	Green	Wes Regan	5,395	9.19	+1.54	$29,914.97
	Communist	Peter Marcus	525	0.89	–	–
	Independent	D. Alex Millar	216	0.37	–	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Anne Jamieson	214	0.36	-0.35	–
	Pirate	Shawn Vulliez	188	0.32	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			58,708	100.00		$226,454.95
Total rejected ballots			405	0.69	–
Turnout			59,113	67.44	–
Eligible voters			87,657
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-15.57
Source: Elections Canada[29][30][31]

Provincial

v t e 2013 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Wai Ching Kwan	13,845	65.83	+1.88	$78,020
	Liberal	Celyna Sia Sherst	3,942	18.74	−2.06	$18,622
	Green	Barinder Hans	2,506	11.92	−2.36	$7,727
	Marijuana	William Austin	349	1.66	–	$250
	Independent	Jeremy Gustafson	260	1.24	–	$480
	Communist	Peter Marcus	129	0.61	−0.36	$344
Total valid votes			21,031	99.03	–
Total rejected ballots			207	0.97	−0.25
Turnout			21,238	49.77	+3.30
Registered voters			42,672
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+1.97
Source: Elections BC[32]

v t e 2009 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	11,232	63.95	−0.29	$79,796
	Liberal	Sherry Darlene Wiebe	3,654	20.80	−0.48	$41,506
	Green	John T. Boychuck	2,507	14.28	+4.05	$7,013
	Communist	Peter Marcus	171	0.97	+0.48	$1,565
Total valid votes			17,564	100
Total rejected ballots			218	1.23
Turnout			17,782	46.47

v t e 2005 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	12,974	64.24	$98,030
	Liberal	Juliet Andalis	4,298	21.28	$34,819
	Green	Raven Bowen	2,066	10.23	$1,882
	Marijuana	Christopher Patrick Bennett	308	1.53	$100
	Independent	Mike Hansen	205	1.02	$406
	Work Less	Niki Westman	187	0.93	$100
	Communist	Peter Marcus	98	0.49	$2,928
	Democratic Reform	Imtiaz Popat	43	0.21	$100
	Platinum	Kirk Anton Moses	17	0.08	$130
Total valid votes			20,196	100
Total rejected ballots			312	1.54
Turnout			20,508	49.93

v t e 2001 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	7,163	44.48	-19.57	$60,582
	Liberal	Gail Sparrow	5,343	33.18	+8.82	$56,796
	Green	Dale Hofmann	2,612	16.22	+11.86	$3,276
	Marijuana	David Malmo-Levine	489	3.03	–	$721
	Unity	Ken Wright	166	1.03	–	$185
	No Affiliation	Liar Liar	148	0.92	–	–
	Communist	Kimball Cariou	142	0.88	-0.19	$332
	Party of Citizens	Franklin Wayne Poley	42	0.26	–	331
Total valid votes			16,105	100.00
Total rejected ballots			208	1.29
Turnout			16,313	59.36
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-14.2

1996 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Mount Pleasant

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jenny Kwan	11,155	64.05		$41,905
	Liberal	Anne Beer	4,243	24.36		$32,735
	Green	Paul Alexander	759	4.36		$100
	Progressive Democrat	John Spark	584	3.35		$100
	Reform	Wayne Marsden	354	2.03%
	Communist	Kimball Cariou	121	0.69		$319
	Natural Law	John S.W. Kent	114	0.65		$120
	Social Credit	Agnes Kokko	86	0.49		$526
Total valid votes			17,416	100.00
Total rejected ballots			284	1.60
Turnout			17,700	60.50

See also

• Chinese Canadians in British Columbia

References

1. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
2. "Official Biography: Jenny Wai Ching Kwan (39th Parliament)". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
3. McMartin, Will (2005-09-14). "Budget Battlers Ready to Rumble". The Tyee.
4. MacLeod, Andrew (2010-12-02). "James Allies Scramble to Defend Against Kwan's Attack". The Tyee.
5. LABC. "Official Biography: Jenny Wai Ching Kwan (40th Parliament)". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
6. MacLeod, Andrew (2010-12-01). "'Carole James is dividing the party': NDP MLA Kwan". The Tyee.
7. Fowlie, Jonathan (2010-12-02). "NDP leader Carole James will convene emergency meeting over revolt". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2010-12-06.
8. Thomson, Stephen (2010-12-03). "Jenny Kwan says she will "wait and see" outcome of emergency NDP caucus session". Georgia Straight.
9. MacLeod, Andrew (2010-12-03). "'Every MLA Will Be Held Accountable': James". The Tyee.
10. Fowlie, Jonathan and Rob Shaw (2010-12-06). "Carole James quits as NDP leader". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2011-03-16.
11. Tieleman, Bill (2010-12-07). "She Had to Go: Carole James' resignation was inevitable after NDP's 2009 election defeat". The Tyee.
12. Smith, Charlie (2010-12-01). "Jenny Kwan doesn't want to become NDP leader, so who will it be?". Georgia Straight.
13. Rob Shaw; Tiffany Crawford (20 March 2014). "Portland Hotel Society audit finds hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable expenses". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
14. Laanela, Mike (21 March 2014). "NDP MLA Jenny Kwan repaying $35K for Europe, Disney trips". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
15. Bains, Camille (21 March 2014). "NDP MLA and family took Disney trip cited in scathing audit". CTV / Canadian Press. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
16. The Canadian Press (24 March 2014). "Jenny Kwan Unpaid Leave Still Being Worked Out: Adrian Dix". Huffington Post.
17. Hunter, Justine and Ian Bailey (24 March 2014). "Jenny Kwan takes temporary leave amid questions about social-services provider". The Globe and Mail.
18. The Canadian Press (25 January 2015). "Jenny Kwan to run for federal NDP seat in Vancouver East". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015.
19. The Province (18 January 2015). "Elmore officially launches NDP nomination bid for Vancouver East". The Province.
20. Smith, Charlie (16 December 2014). "NDP can hold Vancouver East if the party chooses the right candidate". The Georgia Straight.
21. Nuttall, Jeremy (4 February 2015). "Game On For Coveted East Van Riding". The Tyee.
22. "Canada election 2015: Big name B.C. politicians challenged". CBC News. October 19, 2015.
23. "Mulcair announces shadow cabinet, and vows to make sure Liberal government 'fulfills its promises'". National Post. November 12, 2015.
24. CBC News (2023-05-12). "CSIS has begun offering other MPs briefings on foreign interference". CBC News. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
25. Lord, Craig (May 29, 2023). "NDP's Jenny Kwan says CSIS revealed China is targeting her". Global News. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
26. "Confirmed candidates — Vancouver East". Elections Canada. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
27. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
28. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
29. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Vancouver East, 30 September 2015
30. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
31. "Résultats du soir d'élection - Circonscriptions".
32. "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

External links

• Jenny Kwan – Parliament of Canada biography
• Official Biography, Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
• Biography, New Democratic Party
• Jenny Kwan at IMDb