John McCallum, a former Federal Minister of Liberal Cabinet, died. He was 75 years old.
A McCallum family statement said he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.
“For us, John was simply a loving and kind family man with an ingenious sense of humor,” says the statement.
McCallum was elected liberal deputy for Markham-Unionville in 2000. Throughout his political career, he served as a cabinet minister in several portfolios, including national defense, veteran affairs, income and immigration, refugees and citizenship.
As the Prime Minister of Immigration of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, McCallum helped to reassure 50,000 Syrian refugees in Canada.
“It made it possible despite real challenges at an unpredictable time,” Trudeau said on social networks about resettlement. “I am thinking about his whole family and all his many friends at this difficult moment.”
McCallum also served as an ambassador to China since 2017-19, becoming the first political appointment of Canada in Beijing. He then lost his position for the comments he made during the diplomatic crisis surrounding the struggle of the Huawei Meng Wanzhou executive to avoid extradition to the United States from Canada.
Prime Minister Mark Carney praised McCallum on social networks, describing him as “an inspiration, a mentor and a friend.”
“John served Canada and the academy with great distinction, helping us to find solutions to our greatest economic challenges, dedicating his invaluable ideas at the service of democracy and diplomacy of Canada, and always doing it with good humor and grace,” said Carney.
Before entering politics, McCallum served as chief economist of the Royal Bank of Canada and Dean of Arts at McGill University in Montreal.
The family has requested privacy.
