kevin vuong

Everyone wants this newly-elected Toronto MP to resign but he won't

Just days after Toronto candidate Kevin Vuong was elected to the House of Commons in one of the most bizarre races in Monday's election, calls are mounting for the embattled MP to step down.

Vuong initially ran as a Liberal in the densely-populated Spadina-Fort York riding — one of three Toronto ridings that were too close to call on election night — but was disavowed by the party following a sexual assault allegation revealed just days before the vote.

It was far too late to remove his name from the ballot, so Vuong was elected as an independent when the votes tallied up in his favour.

The complaint against Vuong was withdrawn in 2019, with the alleged victim quoted as saying she "didn't have the energy" to go to trial, but many voters were unaware of the allegation at the time they cast their ballot.

Vuong responded to the growing controversy, releasing a statement on Wednesday afternoon addressing the allegations and calls for his removal.

If anything, the momentum to de-seat the embattled MP has only been growing since his statement was released, with calls from constituents and other politicians urging Vuong to resign, including his NDP challenger Norm Di Pasquale.

Among the voices calling for his removal is local political heavyweight and fellow MP Adam Vaughan, who represented the Spadina-Fort York riding as a Liberal MP from the riding's 2015 creation up until election night. Vaughan also represented the previous Trinity-Spadina riding as both an MP and City Councillor.

On Thursday evening, Vaughan issued a statement via Twitter, joining the chorus of voices urging the newly-elected MP to step down.

"Mr. Vuong's actions have betrayed that trust, that betrayal led to his election victory under the false premise of Liberal representation," the statement reads.

Co-penned by the Spadina-Fort York riding Executive, the statement goes on to recommend that a by-election should be held following Vuong's suggested resignation.

"We believe that a by-election should be called and call on Mr. Vuong to listen to our voices and those of many other leaders and residents of Spadina-Fort York to resign and show respect to the people of the riding and the integrity of Parliament."

Vuong has maintained radio silence since releasing his statement, with no further posts on Twitter and his Instagram set to private.

Lead photo by

Kevin Vuong


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