Stan Cho (; born September 14, 1977) is a Canadian politician who has represented the riding of Willowdale in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2018. A member of the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Cho served as the province's minister of tourism, culture and gaming from 2024 to 2026, minister of long-term care from 2023 to 2024 and associate minister of transportation from 2021 to 2023. He resigned as a provincial cabinet minister on July 17, 2026, following public scrutiny of his hotel-related expenses, while remaining a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP).
Background Cho was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, to an immigrant family from South Korea. They moved to the Willowdale neighbourhood of North York when Cho was eight years old. He holds a degree in philosophy from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He began his career as an auditor for Mercedes-Benz before entering his family's real estate business. Cho worked as an agent for 15 years before taking over as broker and general manager of their Royal LePage franchise in 2012.
Political career In 2018, Cho defeated Liberal incumbent David Zimmer, becoming the MPP for Willowdale.
Roles held Cho served as Parliamentary Assistant to the President of the Treasury Board, Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy. In the same year, Cho reintroduced Garrett's Legacy Act to the provincial legislature. In 2019, Cho was appointed as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Rod Phillips. In 2023, Cho became Minister of Long-Term Care; he would later become Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming.
Expense scrutiny and resignation from cabinet
Hotel expenses Between 2023 and 2026, Cho expensed $16,203 to the Ontario Legislature for hotel stays in Toronto, despite his residence being 5.9 kilometres from the Legislative Assembly. Through his office, Cho issued a comment, stating that "[w]hile these expenses meet the criteria for special circumstances as set out by the Legislative Guide for Member’s expenses, I will be personally reimbursing the legislature for any expense that does not meet the spirit of the policy," before later commenting that "I will be personally reimbursing the legislature for the entire amount of the expenses incurred". Cho faced criticism from the opposition, with New Democratic leader Marit Stiles noting that "[you] can get from Willowdale to Queen’s Park without even changing the subway train". Cho was also directed to repay the expenses by Premier Doug Ford, who told him "[you're] paying back every single penny — that’s not the way we operate, simple as that". He delivered his letter of resignation from cabinet, effective immediately, to Premier Ford during the morning of July 17, 2026. Cho stated he will continue to serve as the member for Willowdale.
Riding association expenses On July 20, 2026, Global News further reported that Cho also expensed nearly $100,000, between 2023 and 2026 to his riding association, including dinners at steakhouses and lobster restaurants, airline tickets, hotel stays and a limousine rental. Riding associations are funded by private donations to the political party as well as a per-vote subsidy from taxpayers.
Election results
References