Former Liberal Cabinet Minister John McCallum Dies at 75
John McCallum, a former federal Liberal cabinet minister who served as ambassador to China during a period of high-profile tensions, died at the age of 75.
Mr. McCallum died Saturday, according to a family statement.
"To us, John was simply a loving and kind family man with a witty sense of humour," states the press release.
Mr. McCallum represented ridings in Markham, Ontario, from 2000 to 2017. He worked as a cabinet minister for Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, holding the portfolios of military and national revenue.
As defence minister, Mr McCallum oversaw a considerable military budget rise during the early days of Canada's mission in Afghanistan, as well as when Canada declined to join the US invasion of Iraq. \
At the same time, the outspoken and oftentimes gaffe-prone minister gained notoriety for claiming he had never heard of the 1942 Dieppe raid, a devastating attack by Canadian and Allied soldiers during WWII.
Throughout Stephen Harper's decade-long Conservative government, Mr. McCallum was re-elected and served as the Liberal critic for finance and public works.
When Justin Trudeau's Liberals came to power in 2015, Mr McCallum was one of only a few ministers with previous cabinet experience. He was named immigration minister and kept a high-profile campaign promise to resettle over 25,000 Syrian refugees. He also managed the government's initial large-scale immigration increases.
"I will never forget how, as a cabinet minister, he helped me as a new Prime Minister steer the government through the rapid resettlement of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees," Mr Trudeau said on social media Sunday. "He made it happen despite real challenges in an unpredictable time."
Mr. Trudeau selected him as ambassador to China in 2017, at a time when the Canadian government was attempting to strengthen bilateral relations. Those relations cooled the following year when Canadian officials detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the United States.
Mr McCallum sparked outrage months later when he told Chinese-language media in the Toronto region that Ms Wanzhou had compelling legal reasons to escape extradition. He eventually resigned and withdrew from public office in 2019.
Before entering politics, Mr. McCallum was a McGill University professor and the Royal Bank of Canada's chief economist.
Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed sadness over Mr McCallum's death, describing him as an inspiration, mentor, and friend.
"John served Canada and academia with great distinction, helping us to find solutions to our biggest economic challenges, devoting his invaluable insights to the service of Canada's democracy and diplomacy, and always doing so with good humour and grace," a statement issued by Mr Carney read.
Alex Himelfarb, Clerk of the Privy Council during Mr. McCallum's first term in office, stated in an e-mail that "John was a man of great decency and with a deep commitment to service and Canada."
He is survived by his wife Nancy, sons Andrew, Jamie, and Duncan, and six grandkids.