Henry and I met at the Canadian Race Relations Foundation annual conference a few years ago. I remember meeting a professional who was working in a very different type of industry than I was used to, mining. We connected because we talked about the need for representation that reflected the values and reality of racialized people, especially East Asians.
As people of Chinese descent, we didn’t feel like the few East Asian politicians reflected the same values as us. We wanted progressive leadership with strong public services and leaders who came from and cared about their neighbourhoods and communities. When I first thought about running, Henry was enthusiastic in his support.