By Staff
In November last year, Julius Tiangson, who came to Canada in 1985, emerged as winner in a three-way race for the nomination of the Conservative Party in the new riding of Mississauga Centre.
For the 51-year-old financial consultant, the victory set a historic precedent for the Filipino community in the Greater Toronto Area.
In an interview with The Mississauga News, Tiangson said that he is the first Canadian of Filipino descent to be nominated as candidate of a major political party in the Toronto metropolis.
Tiangson also told the local paper that his priorities include advocating for job creation for young people.
Tiangson relates in his campaign website that he finished an accounting degree in the Ateneo de Davao University in the Philippines. His accounting background brought him to Saskatoon in 1985 for a job exchange program. He became a landed immigrant two years later.
Tiangson and his family moved to Mississauga in 2000, where he co-founded the Gateway Centre for New Canadians, which helps new immigrants integrate in their new country.
“Through the Gateway Centre, I’ve successfully collaborated with over 40 community associations in Mississauga and the Greater Toronto Area,” he relates in his website.
“I have been very active in the Conservative movement in both Saskatchewan and Ontario,” the Mississauga candidate also states. “My involvement in mobilizing hundreds of volunteers has been instrumental in helping various candidates either elected or have made their campaign more focused.”