Victor Oh

The Honourable
Victor Oh
Senator for Ontario
In office
January 25, 2013 – June 10, 2024
Nominated byStephen Harper
Appointed byDavid Johnston
Personal details
Born (1949-06-10) June 10, 1949 (age 75)
Colony of Singapore[1]
Political partyConservative Party of Canada
SpouseRosabella Chiu (赵从霓)

Victor Oh (Chinese: 胡子修, born June 10, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician who served as a Canadian senator from Ontario from January 2013 until his mandatory retirement in June 2024.[2][3]

Early life

Oh was born in Singapore. In 1978, he immigrated to Canada with his wife and children.[citation needed]

Business career

Oh was the founding chairman of the Canada-China Business Communication Council and the former President of Wyford Holdings, a property development and management business.[4]

Senate of Canada

Oh was a member of the Standing Senate Committees on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Agriculture and Forestry and National Security and Defence. He was also a member of the Special Senate Committee on the Arctic.[5]

Oh was the vice-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association and of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group in addition to a member of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas and the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. He has also held executive positions in a number of parliamentary friendship groups including Canada-Bulgaria, Canada-Indonesia, Canada-Malaysia, Canada-Nordic-Baltic, Canada-Peru and Canada-Singapore.[5]

In 2016, Senator Oh was the head of the Canadian parliamentary delegation at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) held in Vancouver, British Columbia. On this same year, he joined the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & International Monetary Fund, which provides a platform for parliamentarians from over 140 countries to advocate for increased accountability and transparency in International Financial Institutions and multilateral development financing.[5]

Oh has also been involved in various initiatives to celebrate ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity in Canada.[5]

Hazel McCallion, the former mayor of Mississauga, inspired Oh to get involved in public life. He notes that "her lifelong involvement with charitable work and her deep commitment to the public good was, and continues to be, a true testament of good leadership."[6]

In June 2023, Oh advocated for the establishment of a foundation that would sue "messy reporters" and politicians who "try to smear" Chinese people.[7]

Oh retired as a senator on June 10, 2024, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.[3]

Conflict of interest investigation

In December 2017, it was reported that Victor Oh accepted trips to China paid for by the Chinese government or pro-Beijing business groups.[8][9] In February 2020, the Senate's ethics watchdog found that Victor Oh broke the conflict of interest and ethics code by accepting and then failing to disclose an all-expenses-paid trip to China for himself and two other senators.[10] On June 18, the Senate Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee recommended that Oh be censured, and asked for him to apologize to the Senate.[11]

Foreign interference allegation

During the public inquiry into Chinese government interference in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections, then-Conservative House of Commons leader Erin O'Toole considered expelling a Conservative senator from the party caucus over concerns that this senator directly or indirectly lobbied on behalf of a Chinese state-owned enterprise in a town in Ontario. Conservative staffers revealed that the senator O'Toole was referring to was Oh.[12] Previously, during the 2017 conflict of interest investigation, Oh was reported to have met with United Front's officials during the Chinese-sponsored trips to discuss initiatives to build support for Beijing's policies in the Chinese overseas diaspora and influence the countries in which the diaspora live in.[9]

Recognition and awards

In 2011, Canadian Immigrant magazine named him one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award Winners.[13]

Oh has served as the honorary chair of the board of the Canada Confederation of Shenzhen Associations (CCSA).[14]

References

  1. ^ [1] Archived 2018-01-16 at the Wayback Machine VictorOh.ca
  2. ^ "PM announces the appointment of five new senators" (Press release). Prime Minister's Office. January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "'I am grateful to my adopted country': Senator Oh retires". Senate of Canada. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Harper appoints five new senators - Document - Gale OneFile: CPI.Q". go.gale.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Senator Victor Oh". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Meet Senator Victor Oh". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Sen. Victor Oh says Chinese Canadians need to fundraise to sue 'messy reporters'". Toronto Star. 23 June 2023. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  8. ^ Fife, Robert; Chase, Steve (1 December 2017). "Beijing foots bill for Canadian senators, MPs to visit China". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b Nuttall, Jeremy J. (6 December 2017). "Parliamentarians Ignore Blockbuster Paid Travel Revelation". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  10. ^ Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (18 February 2020). "Senator broke ethics rules by accepting free travel to China". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  11. ^ Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (18 June 2020). "Conservative Senator Victor Oh faces censure for free trip to China". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. ^ Thompson, Elizabeth (18 September 2024). "O'Toole says he considered expelling a Conservative senator over foreign influence concerns". CBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Canada's Top 25 Immigrants 2011". Canadian Immigrant. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  14. ^ McGregor, Scott; Mitchell, Ina (2023). The Mosaic Effect: How the Chinese Communist Party Started a Hybrid War in America's Backyard. Optimum Publishing International. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-88890-324-2. OCLC 1374491172. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023. ...the Canada Confederation of Shenzhen Associations (CCSA), which is connected to the Shenzhen Overseas Affairs Office and the Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Federation, which in turn are connected to the United Front Work Department. The honourary [sic] chair of the CCSA's board of directors is Victor Oh, who is a member of the Canadian Senate.