A controversial former Toronto mayoral candidate, best known for plastering every inch of the city with election signs, has thrown his name into the ring for Canada’s upcoming federal election.
Chinese-Canadian businessman Xiaohua Gong (also known as Xiao Hua Gong or Edward Gong) is the latest candidate to announce their bid to become Member of Parliament (MP) for the Don Valley North riding in Toronto, sharing the news in an Instagram post on Wednesday evening.
Gong, listed as “no affiliation” with any political parties, is looking to fill the seat that will be left vacant by former Liberal and current independent MP Han Dong, who announced he will not seek re-election for the riding.
Gong is running against NDP candidate Naila Saeed, Conservative hopeful Joe Tay, and Liberal Party candidate Maggie Chi.
This is not Gong’s first or even second election.
He first made waves as a candidate in Toronto’s 2023 mayoral election through a perplexing campaign that bombarded the public with pictures of his face, and ultimately finished in 11th place with just 0.4 per cent of the vote.
During the campaign, Gong became something of a viral celebrity for his widespread election sign coverage, becoming the target of memes along the way. His 15 minutes of fame did catch up to him, though, and led to the public learning details about a shady business past involving a pyramid scheme.
In 2021, Gong pleaded guilty in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of his company to charges of forging documents and a pyramid scheme.
That same year, he was forced to forfeit more than $60 million CAD to the New Zealand government as part of an alleged multi-national pyramid scheme and money-laundering operation related to the OSC case, that country’s largest-ever forfeiture under the 2009 Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act.
However, his minimal share of votes during the 2023 Toronto election and his dark past being dredged up did not deter the budding politician from trying again the following year in the 2024 Mississauga mayoral election, where he placed 9th overall in the election with a paltry 0.43 per cent of the vote.
Maybe the third time really will be a charm.
