David Emerson as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Kingsway for the 2004 election. In the general election, he narrowly defeated Ian Waddell of the New Democratic Party (NDP) by 1,351 votes. Waddell had previously represented Vancouver Kingsway from 1979 until 1988, when the riding was abolished and Waddell transferred to Port Moody—Coquitlam. The 2006 election saw a rematch between Emerson and Waddell. This time, Emerson won handily, defeating Waddell by nearly 10 points as the Liberals nearly swept Vancouver. Emerson attracted some media attention in December 2005 with a comment that NDP leader Jack Layton had a "boiled dog's head smile". While the term is translated from the common and mild Cantonese insult "烚熟狗頭", Emerson said that he believed it to be a humorous phrase indicating a person with an "overextended grin". Emerson said that his wife, a Cantonese speaker, used the phrase to describe him when he posed for pictures. Crossing the floor At some point between election day and the day Stephen Harper was due to be sworn in as prime minister, Emerson accepted an offer from Harper to cross the floor and become Minister of International Trade in Harper's new Conservative minority government. According to Emerson, British Columbia Conservative campaign coordinator John Reynolds called him the day after the election to ask if he was interested in having a conversation with Harper. Gaining regional representation in Cabinet from key metropolitan areas, such as Vancouver, according to Harper, was key to the decision in asking Emerson to cross the floor. Indeed, 2006 marked the first time in decades that a centre-right party had been completely shut out in Vancouver. However, Emerson's Conservative opponent, Kanman Wong, claimed on February 10, 2006, that Emerson was seriously considering crossing the floor during the run-up to the election. Wong added that he would have stood down in Emerson's favour had he done so. In any case, Emerson's decision was kept secret from his Liberal colleagues, the press, and even most Conservatives until February 6, 2006, when he arrived at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General, for the swearing-in of the new government. In addition to his International Trade portfolio, Emerson was given responsibility for the Pacific Gateway and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, areas of particular importance to the riding of Vancouver-Kingsway and in general, the Greater Vancouver area. He was ranked third in Cabinet in the order of