Canada’s immigration minister is as popular as a rising rock star. The Star follows him for a day as he tours the GTA’s ethnic communities.
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RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR
Kenney is mobbed by shoppers as he hands out "red pockets" to the crowd at Pacific Mall in Markham.
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Jason Kenney , Canada’s immigration minister, sits with his eyes closed as the abbot of the Cham Shan Temple in Thornhill prepares tea for him and a group of dignitaries.
“Did you taste the tea with your teeth?” the minister is asked. Kenney says he did.
“Then you have no worries,” he is told. “You are worry-free.”
The ancient Buddhist tea ceremony was a rare quiet moment in an otherwise hectic day on the road for Kenney, who draws fawning crowds like a rising rock star, rather than a federal politician, in the country’s ethnic communities.
During a jam-packed itinerary stretching across the GTA on a recent Saturday, Kenney was mobbed by excited shoppers at the Pacific Mall in Markham, grabbed on Toronto streets by supporters for impromptu photos, cheered by hundreds at a Tibetan New Year celebration and showered with confetti at a gala dinner.
For Kenney it’s all in a day’s work. As point man for the Conservative Party with Canada’s ethnic community and as minister of immigration and multiculturalism, he has worked assiduously to gain support for both himself and the party.
He has succeeded — with some in the Chinese community describing Kenney as ‘the Justin Bieber of Canadian politics.’ They embrace him with as much enthusiasm, also referring to him as the “smiling Buddha.”
Kenney’s popularity, and the popularity of his party, didn’t come easy. The ethnic and immigrant vote has traditionally been the stronghold of the Liberal Party and to a lesser degree the NDP.
But Kenney has nurtured the ethnic communities from the ground up, sometimes spending as much as six or seven out of eight weekends meeting and listening to their concerns.
Kenney arrives at 7:53 a.m. at Toronto’s Pearson airport, ready for a four-day series of meetings and official announcements that will take him across the GTA. He emerges with his usual exuberance despite having been up until 1 a.m. after a full day of meetings in Sault Ste. Marie.
The 44-year-old Oakville native was scheduled to appear at 11 events — with the Shia Muslim, Chinese, Iranian, Buddhist, Korean and Indian communities, along with a private meeting — in a span of 15 hours.
Kenney, who has represented Calgary Southeast since 1997 and was appointed the immigration post in October 2008, says he is used to it.
“I guess I get carried through the day with the momentum of all the different things I’m doing.”
To some immigrant communities, which felt patronized by governments in the past through what Kenney calls “superficial happy talk” at ethnic festivals, dances and food, his approach is refreshing. The minister can greet his hosts in more than 25 languages — from “as-salam alaykum” in Arabic to “gong xi fa cai” in Mandarin.
The immigrant community may not necessarily share Kenney’s views and policies — the moratorium on immigration sponsorship of parents and grandparents is not popular — but respects his candour, a rare trait in politicians.
At a meeting with board members of the Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto in Thornhill, Kenney acknowledges the “unique friction” between the Muslim and Jewish communities, and praises “the sage advice” from the venerable Aga Khan, the stream of Islam the congregation shares.
Mazahair Dhirani, the jamaat’s honourary secretary, says he is impressed with Kenney’s knowledge of Islam, and particularly the history of Canada’s Shia community.
“He does his homework well. He is a good listener,” says Dhirani, a pharmacist who came here from Tanzania 12 years ago. “You may not agree with him, but you respect his views.”
Chauffeured next by his four aides to the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre in Etobicoke, Kenney receives a standing welcome by 800 people at the Tibetan New Year celebration, outshining other elected officials in attendance.
On stage, he expresses concern over the rise of self-immolations in Tibet protesting Beijing repression. He later runs back on stage, saying he forgot to announce the waiving of a $550 processing fee for Tibetans who want to resettle displaced loved ones from Arunachal Pradesh, India to Canada on humanitarian grounds.
“There is no bigger, stronger and more committed Tibetan support in the Parliament of Canada,” says community leader Norbu Tsering, who received a Diamond Jubilee medal from Kenney at the event.
Despite heavy snow, Kenney then stops outside Markham’s Pacific Mall to have photos taken with Chinese shoppers.
“He has helped the Conservatives to close the ethnic gap against the Liberals,” says Dr. Ken Ng, chair of the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham, as Kenney leads a lion dance parade for the Chinese New Year celebration.
“He’s welcomed everywhere also because his government is in power. If you want the government’s ear, you go to him.”
He’s also admired as a man of “honour,” says Shahram Saremi, chair of the IC Youth Organization. “I think what he’s trying to do politically is to make sure the genuine people who are looking at settlement in a peaceful country would get the benefit, rather than the undesirables.”
Kenney continues on to a gala New Year’s dinner held in his honour at the Century Palace Chinese Restaurant in Markham. He is 30 to 40 minutes late, but the guests don’t mind. As he approaches the stage, confetti cannons are launched, showering the minister with multicoloured shredded paper.
Suddenly signs in both English and Chinese appear: ‘We Love Kenney.’ ‘Thank You Kenney.’ After dinner, about 200 guests line up for photos with him.
The same enthusiasm is played out at other events. At the Buddhist temple, supporters applaud as he enters and line up for photos with him. At the Korean Galleria, two young girls dressed in Korean costume present him with a bouquet of roses.
Later in the evening, he is cheered as he makes his way to the stage at a second New Year’s dinner for 700, held by the Confederation of Greater Toronto Chinese Business Association.
By the time he gets to this event at the Hilton Suites in Markham, he is running well behind. He gives a short speech, stops for pictures, apologizes for his short visit and exits, knowing he has one more critical stop to make: an Indian concert at the Rogers Centre.
During the drive downtown, Kenney reads email and tweets pictures of the day’s events.
At the Rogers Centre, he and his aides cool their heels while Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau addresses the crowd and takes in some of the concert.
Kenney finally grabs something to eat. It’s close to 10 p.m. and he has had only a piece of cake at a round table in the morning and some dim sum at lunch.
Forty-five minutes later, he finally takes a seat in the stadium to hear Maestro Ilaiyaraja, a well-known Tamil composer and performer. After two songs, Kenney presents him with a certificate of honour.
By 11:15, after a mix-up with the keys to his aide’s car, Kenney heads to his hotel. The long day is catching up with him and he yawns. He wishes the staff at the hotel a Happy New Year and heads to his room.
He’ll grab a few hours sleep and be out on the road again first thing Sunday, again meeting with immigrant communities. He doesn’t see it so much as politicking as being “present in the communities.” “It’s one of the great privileges of my job. I get to meet all of these amazing people with remarkable stories and sometimes get to help them . . . I have a sort of front-row-centre seat in what’s best about Canada’s diversity. That’s a pretty cool privilege.”
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