John Cacayugan is sixth Filipino candidate in Manitoba elections. ( Photo: Liberal Party of Manitoba)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
All parties have Filipino candidates
Analysis
By Ted Alcuitas
Editor
John Cacayuran is the Liberal Party’ s candidate for McPhilipps riding in the September 10 provincial election, bringing the total number of Filipino candidates to six.
This is the second run by the provincial civil servant and union leader.
Cacayuran represented the party in the 2017 by-election in Point Douglas losing to the NDP by just 562 votes.
It’s always been his goal to enter politics, he told CBC News at the time.
“It’s something I’ve been really dreaming about for, God, who knows how long. Twenty years at least,” he said.
He completed a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Winnipeg and was a Compliance Inspector for the Manitoba Gaming Control Commission in 2005 rising to lead investigator in 2014.
In 2016, he accepted the position of constituency manager for the Federal riding of Kildonan/St. Paul, where he helped residents with their concerns and advocated for local issues.
He is the party’s director for North Winnipeg where he lives.
He has volunteered as a youth soccer coach, worked on a senior’s council and is involved at his children’s daycare.
Manitoba leads in Filipino political participation in Canada
This could be the highest number of candidates in Manitoba’s election history, the province where many firsts happened.
Conrad Santos became the first Filipino Canadian to be elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1981under the NDP. He served for five terms.
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Santos was followed by Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, the first Filipino Canadian to be elected to the Parliament of Canada in 1988. A Liberal, Pagtakhan served for four terms until 2004.