Mary Ng PC MP (born December 16, 1969) is a Canadian politician serving as Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development since 2018. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Markham—Thornhill since a by-election on April 3, 2017.

Mary Ng
伍鳳儀
Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development
Assumed office
July 18, 2018
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded by
  • Bardish Chagger (Minister of Small Business and Tourism)
  • Jim Carr (Minister of International Trade Diversification)
Member of Parliament
for Markham—Thornhill
Assumed office
April 3, 2017
Preceded byJohn McCallum
Personal details
Born (1969-12-16) December 16, 1969 (age 54)
British Hong Kong
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)North York, Ontario, Canada[1]
Alma materUniversity of Toronto Scarborough (BA)
Mary Ng
Traditional Chinese伍鳳儀
Simplified Chinese伍凤仪
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWǔ Fèngyí
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingNg5 Fung6-ji4

Early life

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Ng was born in British Hong Kong on December 16, 1969, and is the eldest child of three.[2] In the 1970s (1976), Ng's parents, Ng Yin-Foo and Ng Wan Lin,[3] immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, later establishing a family-owned restaurant (Ka-Hing Chinese & Szechuan Foods 2346 Dufferin Street[4]) in Toronto, Ontario. Along with her brother Ken and sister Vera,[5] Ng grew up working in the family's restaurant.[6] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto Scarborough in 1996, majoring in political science.[7]

Career

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Ng has worked for 20 years in the public service, focusing on the areas of education, women's leadership, job-creation, and entrepreneurship.[8]

Ng worked as a public servant in the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and Cabinet Office,[citation needed] served as the director of policy to the Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy.[citation needed]

From 2006 to 2008 and then again from 2011 to 2015, Ng served in the President's Office at Ryerson University.[9]

Federal politics

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Following the resignation of Markham—Thornhill MP John McCallum, Ng announced in February 2017 her intention to seek the Liberal Party of Canada nomination for the riding, and won the nomination that March against two other candidates.[10] She proceeded to win the seat at the riding by-election held on April 3 that year.[11]

Member of Parliament

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Ng helped to facilitate the government's commitment to invest in Canadian ideas and innovators in her riding by advocating for the inclusion of Markham's tech-innovation hub, VentureLabs, in the Southern Ontario Supercluster.[12]

Ng holds roles on Parliamentary Associations such as the Canada-China Legislative Association and the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association.[13] In June 2019, Ng publicly announced Michael Chan as her re-election campaign co-chair, which led to questions of potential pro-Beijing influence in her campaign.[14]

Cabinet minister

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Ng at the 2023 G7 Trade Ministers' meeting in Osaka
 
Ng with Denys Shmyhal in Ukraine in June 2024

Ng was appointed Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion in the cabinet reshuffle in July 2018.[15] Following her re-election as MP in the 2019 federal election, she was named Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, adding the trade portfolio to her responsibilities and becoming jointly responsible for Trudeau's foreign policy.[16]

In 2019, Ng attended People's Republic of China 70th anniversary celebrations with Toronto consulate official Han Tao.[14] In response, members of the group Torontonians Stand With Hong Kong indicated concern that Ng could hold the same pro-Beijing positions as those allegedly held by her campaign co-chair, Michael Chan.[14]

After the 2021 election, Ng's responsibilities expanded to include Economic Development.[17] She remains the minister responsible for Canada's trade negotiations, overseeing crown corporations including Business Development Canada and Export Development Canada, and promoting small business through grant funding.[citation needed]

On December 13, 2022, Mario Dion, the federal ethics commissioner, released a report finding that Ng had broken ethics rules in 2019 and 2020 by failing to recuse herself and awarding two government media training contracts – worth $16,950 and $5,840 – to the public relations firm Pomp&Circumstance that her friend of 20 years, Amanda Alvaro, had co-founded.[18] After the release of the report, Ng apologized and issued a statement saying that she should have recused herself.[19][20] Ng reportedly did not consider resigning or repaying the money after the ethics breach.[18]

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election: Markham—Thornhill
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Mary Ng 23,709 61.5 +7.6 $67,977.46
Conservative Melissa Felian 10,136 26.3 -8.3 $57,520.72
New Democratic Paul Sahbaz 3,222 8.4 +1.1 $633.62
Green Mimi Lee 813 2.1 -0.7 $4,285.37
People's Ilia Pashaev 648 1.7 +0.9 $1,203.75
Total valid votes/expense limit 38,528 $106,559.92
Total rejected ballots 398
Turnout 38,926 55.70
Eligible voters 69,883
Source: Elections Canada[21]
2019 Canadian federal election: Markham—Thornhill
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Mary Ng 23,899 53.91 +2.55 $80,357.71
Conservative Alex Yuan 15,319 34.56 -4.43 $74,064.17
New Democratic Paul Sahbaz 3,233 7.29 +3.81 none listed
Green Chris Williams 1,247 2.81 +0.60 none listed
People's Peter Remedios 357 0.81 $0.00
Independent Josephbai Macwan 276 0.62 none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 44,331 100.0
Total rejected ballots 448 1.00 +0.41
Turnout 44,779 61.76 +31.14
Eligible voters 72,499
Liberal hold Swing +3.49
Source: Elections Canada[22][23]
Canadian federal by-election, April 3, 2017: Markham—Thornhill (federal electoral district)
Resignation of John McCallum
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Mary Ng 9,856 51.53 −4.19
Conservative Ragavan Paranchothy 7,501 39.22 +6.91
New Democratic Gregory Hines 671 3.51 −7.21
Progressive Canadian Dorian Baxter 566 2.96
Green Caryn Bergmann 426 2.23 +0.98
Libertarian Brendan Thomas Reilly 118 0.62
Independent Above Znoneofthe 77 0.40
Total valid votes/expense limit 19,125 100.0   –  
Total rejected ballots -
Turnout 27.51
Eligible voters 69,838
Liberal hold Swing −5.55

References

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  1. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Profile - Ng, Mary". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  3. ^ "YIN NG Obituary (2014) - Scarborough, ON - Toronto Star". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  4. ^ "Ka-Hing Chinese & Szechuan Foods · Ng, Yin-Foo · 2346 Dufferin St, Toronto, ON M6E 3S4 · Eating Establishment". Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  5. ^ "YIN NG Obituary (2014) - Scarborough, ON - Toronto Star". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  6. ^ "Biography | Mary Ng | Your member of parliament for Markham-Thornhill". maryngmp.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  7. ^ Haikara, Nina. "Anita Anand, an alumna and a professor at U of T's Faculty of Law, named to federal cabinet". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  8. ^ "The Honourable Mary Ng". Prime Minister of Canada. 2018-07-17. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  9. ^ "Trudeau aide Mary Ng, vying to run in by-election, highlights her relationship with China". Archived from the original on 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  10. ^ "PMO staffer Mary Ng will run for the Liberals in federal byelection". The Canadian Press, via CBC News. 2017-03-04. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
  11. ^ Fraser, Laura (2017-04-03). "Liberal Mary Ng wins Markham-Thornhill byelection". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
  12. ^ "Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster - ventureLAB". ventureLAB. 2018-03-05. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  13. ^ "The Honourable Mary Ng - Roles - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  14. ^ a b c Cooper, Sam (October 20, 2019). "Hong Kong Canadians question alleged pro-Beijing backing for prominent Liberal candidate". Global News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Complete list of Justin Trudeau's first-term cabinet". CBC News. 2018-07-18. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  16. ^ Zimonjic, Peter (2019-11-20). "Who's who in Justin Trudeau's 2019 cabinet". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  17. ^ "Prime Minister welcomes new Cabinet". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-10-26. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  18. ^ a b Lee, Michael (12 March 2023). "Trade Minister Mary Ng did not consider resigning, repaying money after ethics breach". CTV News. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  19. ^ Raycraft, Richard (December 13, 2022). "Trade minister apologizes for breaking conflict of interest rules". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  20. ^ Dion, Mario (December 13, 2022). "Ng Report". Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  21. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  22. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  23. ^ "FORTY-THIRD GENERAL ELECTION 2019 — Poll-by-poll results (Markham—Thornhill)". Elections Canada. April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
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29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Bardish Chagger Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development
July 17, 2018 –
Incumbent