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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.

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.