Claims MP voted from China debunked as travel records show he was back in Canada

Following his decision to step down, Liberal MP Shaun Chen was accused on social media of breaking parliamentary voting rules by casting electronic votes while traveling in China earlier this year. Posts from a journalist at one outlet and other accounts linked a WeChat video dated March 25 to six recorded votes, including on Bill C-9, and warned of a possible national-security breach. Conservative MP John Barlow amplified the claim, citing standing order 45 (12)(a) that forbids voting from abroad and requires visual confirmation via a facial-recognition app.

The Speaker’s office confirmed that both technical safeguards and human validation are in place to detect out-of-country voting. Chen’s team provided a boarding-pass showing a flight from Taipei to Toronto on March 22 and passport stamps confirming his arrival in China on March 14 and departure on March 22, meaning he was in Canada for the March 23 parliamentary sitting. The trip, sponsored by the Hakka Canadian Association and evaluated as a high cybersecurity risk, was his first visit to China since 2019 and was undertaken for official legislative business. Chen cited ongoing health problems as the reason for his resignation, noting a prior vehicle accident.