Liberal outcast wins seat
Says he will sit as Independent in Spadina-fort York
In a tightly contested battle, Toronto's Spadina-fort York has been declared for Kevin Vuong, who was on the ballot as a Liberal although he'd been disavowed by the party over a revelation two days before the election that he'd been charged with sexual assault in 2019.
The charge was later dropped.
Vuong says he now plans to go to Ottawa and sit as an Independent member of Parliament for Spadina-fort York.
NDP candidate Norm di Pasquale, whom Vuong defeated by 2,158 votes, said Vuong does not deserve to represent the riding and called for a byelection.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Vuong to suspend his campaign after he read a Toronto Star article during the week preceding the Sept. 20 election.
Trudeau's decision to drop Vuong came too late to remove his name as the Liberal candidate in Spadina-fort York from the ballot.
In a statement on Wednesday, Vuong acknowledged the growing criticism of his decision to sit as an Independent despite winning the riding as a Liberal on the ballot.
“For those who feel this way, I understand the source of your doubts and I will work hard to earn your trust,” he wrote.
Almost 3,000 people had signed an online petition by this morning calling on Vuong to resign.
Said one of the petition signatories, C. Larsen of Toronto: “Kevin Vuong never should have been allowed to stand as a candidate in this election. The Liberal Party did not vet him properly, and the public was misled about his suitability to represent us. He should resign immediately.”
Laura Reinholz said she submitted a mail-in ballot for Vuong before news of the dropped charge emerged.
“I don't want an Independent representing me, especially this one,” Reinholz told CBC News. “This is where our electoral process fails us.”
Vuong, an officer in the naval reserve, also is facing a review by the Canadian Armed Forces, for allegedly not informing them of the dropped 2019 charge.
Spadina-fort York was previously held by Liberal Adam Vaughan, who did not seek re-election.