Joe Tay, a singer and actor who moved from Hong Kong to Canada, is seen in a file photo. Tay ran for the Conservative Party in the Ontario riding of Don Valley North in the 2025 federal election. Courtesy of Joe Tay
A candidate for the federal Conservatives in the spring election says a supporter received a violent threat after meeting with him—one of several tactics he suspects Beijing may have used to undermine his campaign.
Joe Tay, a former Hong Kong singer and actor turned democracy activist, was running for the Conservatives in the Don Valley North riding of Toronto. He testified before the procedure and House affairs committee (PROC) on Dec. 2 as it studies the topic of foreign interference in elections.
“Transnational repression is real, highly sophisticated, coordinated and totally destructive,” he said, adding that during his campaign he faced “non-stop foreign election interference.”
Tay spoke of being targeted in Chinese-language media and of his staff being followed. A more serious allegation of intimidation involved one of his supporters.
“A lady supporter, who just simply met me for a coffee chat, received a parcel containing a dress splattered with red paint simulating blood, stabbed through the chest, a graphic warning to not support me,” he told the committee.
He also said individuals were going door-to-door in seniors’ apartment buildings to warn the occupants that if they vote for Joe Tay the Chinese consulate would know and cancel their visas to China.
Tay also discussed being warned by the RCMP to stop canvassing door-to-door due to threats.
He went on to lose the federal election to Liberal candidate Maggie Chi by over 5,000 votes.
Tay’s name became more broadly known during the spring campaign when it was reported that former Liberal MP Paul Chiang in early 2025 had suggested Tay be brought to the Chinese consulate to collect a bounty.
Hong Kong authorities had issued international bounties against Tay and others in late 2024 under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law because of their pro-democracy advocacy, a move described as “transnational repression” by Global Affairs Canada.
“To everyone here, you can claim the $1 million dollar bounty if you bring him [Tay] to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,” Chiang reportedly said during an ethnic media event in Toronto. HK$1 million is equivalent to around CA$180,000.
Chiang apologized for his comment and eventually dropped out of the federal election. Prime Minister Mark Carney had accepted Chiang’s apology and rejected calls to remove him as a candidate.
The RCMP said in late April it was investigating the incident but there have been no updates since.
Tay said the incident, combined with Carney’s decision not to remove Chiang from the ballot, left him “really concerned” and scared, and he considered ending his campaign. He said he expected Canadian politicians to stand up to the Chinese regime-linked threat to democracy.
“I kept going because I [thought] at least there will be some protection from the system,” he said.
Another event involving Tay made headlines during the election campaign when the elections security task force SITE warned he was being targeted by a Beijing-linked transnational repression operation on social media.
SITE officials said the online campaign included the “inauthentic and coordinated” amplification of content regarding the arrest warrant and bounty against Tay, as well as content questioning his ability to run for office. At the same time SITE saw the “deliberate suppression” of information of search terms relating to Joe Tay on the online platforms used by Chinese speakers.
Tay was running in the riding of Don Valley North, which had been a point of focus of the Foreign Interference Commission.
Intelligence from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was publicly released at the commission noting there had been “irregularities” during the 2019 Liberal nomination race linking back to individuals close to Chinese regime officials.
This included the Chinese consulate issuing “veiled threats” to international Chinese students participating in the vote that their student visas would be revoked and that there would be consequences for their families in China if they didn’t vote for Han Dong.
Dong went on to become the MP but he left the Liberal Party in 2023 when allegations about his interactions with Chinese officials surfaced in the media. He settled a defamation lawsuit against Global News in June.
Dong has denied being aware that the Chinese consulate was backing him during the 2019 nomination race. He didn’t run in the 2025 election.