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John McCallum, Veteran Liberal Minister and Diplomat, Dies at 75

His family said he died peacefully Saturday surrounded by loved ones after a career spanning cabinet roles in immigration, defence, diplomacy.

Political veteran John McCallum has died at the age of 75. McCallum, at the time Canada's ambassador to China, pictured arriving to brief members of the Foreign Affairs committee regarding China in Ottawa on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Overview

  • McCallum first won the Greater Toronto Area riding of Markham-Unionville in 2000 and represented it for more than two decades.
  • He served under three Liberal prime ministers as minister of veterans affairs and minister of national revenue.
  • He sponsored policies that led to the resettlement of roughly 50,000 Syrian refugees in Canada.
  • Appointed ambassador to China in 2017, he resigned in 2019 at the request of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following controversies over the arrest of a Huawei executive.
  • Prior to politics, he worked as chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada and served as dean of arts at McGill University.