Michael Chong | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chong in 2017 | |||||||||
| Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs | |||||||||
| In office February 6, 2006 – November 26, 2006 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Lucienne Robillard | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Peter Van Loan | ||||||||
| Minister of State for Sport | |||||||||
| In office February 6, 2006 – November 26, 2006 | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Stephen Owen | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Peter Van Loan | ||||||||
| Member of Parliament forWellington—Halton Hills | |||||||||
| Assumed office June 28, 2004 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Constituency established | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Michael David Chong (1971-11-22)November 22, 1971 (age 53) Windsor, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||
| Political party | Conservative (2003–present) | ||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Conservative (before 2003)[1] | ||||||||
| Spouse | Carrie Davidson | ||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||
| Residence(s) | Elora, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Toronto (BA) | ||||||||
| Profession | IT consultant | ||||||||
| Website | michaelchong | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 莊文浩 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 庄文浩 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Michael David ChongPC MP (born November 22, 1971) is a Canadian politician who has represented theOntarioriding ofWellington—Halton Hills in theHouse of Commons since2004. A member of theConservative Party, he served in thecabinet ofPrime MinisterStephen Harper asMinister of Intergovernmental Affairs andMinister of Sport, as well as thePresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada from February 6, 2006 to November 27, 2006. On September 8, 2020, Chong was appointed the Shadow Minister forForeign Affairs.[2]
Chong began his career onBay Street before entering politics. He ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party in2017, coming in fifth place out of fourteen candidates.
Chong was born on November 22, 1971, inWindsor, Ontario, the oldest son of Cornelia de Haan and Paul Chong. His father was born inHong Kong and immigrated to Canada in 1952, becoming a doctor. His mother arrived in Canada in 1960 from the Netherlands, and worked as a nurse. Chong has three siblings; Peter, Andrew and Joanna.[3] He was raised nearFergus inWellington County, a small town in ruralSouthern Ontario, and attendedCentre Wellington District High School.[4] In 1978, when Chong was six years old, his mother was killed in a car accident at an intersection near Fergus. Two years after her death his father married Adriana, who raised him and his three siblings as if they were her own. In 1999, Chong's father was also killed in a car accident at the same intersection where his mother had been killed 21 years earlier.[5]
Chong attendedTrinity College at theUniversity of Toronto where he studied philosophy, history and politics.[3] In his final year at university he landed a job withCanadian Tire as an assistant to a senior executive.[5] He has worked in information technology for Barclays Bank and Research Capital Corporation. Chong worked as a senior technology consultant to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority for the redevelopment ofPearson International Airport and prior to entering politics he worked for the National Hockey League Players’ Association.[3]
Chong was a founding member ofThe Dominion Institute.[6] He served on the board of the Groves Memorial Hospital from 2002 to 2004, later serving on the board of the Elora Festival and Elora Festival Singers as well as the Corporation of Trinity College.
Chong is married to Carrie Davidson, whom he met while at university. She has roots in bothQuebec andNewfoundland and Labrador. Her great-great grandfather wasWilliam Whiteway, a pro-Confederation politician and three-time premier of thecolony of Newfoundland in the late 19th century. Another great-great grandfather, Charles Peers Davidson, was chief justice of the Superior Court of Quebec in the early 1910s. The couple live near Fergus, which is located on the Grand River about 85 kilometres from Toronto, and have three sons; William, Alistair, and Cameron.[3]
Chong joined theProgressive Conservative Party of Canada and theProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the late 1980s.[7] He ran for parliament in the2000 federal election as a Progressive Conservative, and finished thirdWaterloo—Wellington against incumbentLiberalMember of Parliament (MP)Lynn Myers. Chong supportedPeter MacKay for the leadership of the federal PC party in 2003.[8]
In early 2004, the Progressive Conservatives merged with theCanadian Alliance to create the Conservative Party of Canada. Chong joined the new party, and in March 2004 defeated Marty Burke to win its nomination for Wellington—Halton Hills.[9] He was elected in the2004 federal election, defeating LiberalBruce Hood by over 2,000 votes.
Chong declared his personal support for theKyoto Protocol during the 2004 federal election, despite his party's opposition to the measure.[10] He supportedElizabeth Witmer's bid to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in 2001–02, and supportedJohn Tory for the same position in 2004.[11]
Chong wrote an opinion editorial forThe Globe and Mail newspaper in late 2004 entitled "Canadians without hyphens", criticizing John Barber's suggestion that there were not enoughChinese-Canadian MPs representing areas with large Chinese populations. Chong noted he was elected in a riding with a 97% Caucasian population, whileJohn McCallum was elected inMarkham—Unionville, which is more than 60% Asian. Chong argued that these results reflected his idea of Canada, adding that he favoured the creation of a "common Canadian identity that will allow for greater understanding among ethnic groups".[12]
Like most Conservative MPs, Chong voted against the legal recognition ofsame-sex marriage in Canada in 2005. A majority of MPs from other parties supported the measure, however, and same-sex marriages were granted legal recognition. In December 2006, Chong reversed his previous position and became one of thirteen Conservative MPs to vote against re-opening the marriage debate.[13]
Chong has opposed using theGreat Lakes as a water source for inland communities. He has expressed concern about depopulation in rural Ontario, and supports continued door-to-door rural mail service programs.[14]
Chong was re-elected in the2006 federal election. In February 2006, he was appointed to the cabinet in Stephen Harper's government asMinister of Intergovernmental Affairs,President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and Minister of Sport. He was the second Chinese-Canadian cabinet minister in Canadian history, afterRaymond Chan.
In the buildup to the 2006 federal budget, Chong met with various provincial representatives to discuss ways of approaching Canada's equalization formula between the federal government and the provinces. Prior to the budget's release, he described the existing system as "a mess".[15] Some politicians in Ontario expressed concern that the deal would be unduly favourable to Quebec and unfavourable to their province.[16] Later in the year, Harper government indicated that it would automatically transfer future surpluses to the provinces.[17]
In September 2006, the Canadian media reported that the Harper government was considering a plan to transfer $3 billion to the provinces each year. Every province except Newfoundland and Labrador would gain revenue, with Quebec gaining the most at $1.1 billion.[18]
In early 2006, Chong said that his government would fulfill an election pledge to devote 1% of federal health spending (about $350 million) to health promotion and amateur sports.[19] He represented the Harper government as a representative at the2006 Commonwealth Games inMelbourne, Australia.[20] This funding did not appear in the 2006 budget, although the Harper government introduced an annual sports tax credit of $80 per child.[21]
In June 2006, Chong indicated that the federal government would not provide federal funding to the "Out Games", a gay-and-lesbian themed athletic competition held inMontreal, Quebec.[22] The following month, Chong provided $395,000 to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, to make its collection accessible online.[23] He has also discussed the possibility of restartingCanada's ParticipACTION program, which encourages ordinary citizens to become more involved in sports and athletic events.[24] The program was restarted in February 2007, after Chong resigned from cabinet.[25]
Chong pledged $3.5 million to the 2008 North American Indigenous Games in early November 2006.[26] Later in the same month, he announced the creation of Podium Canada to consolidate Canada's medal strategies for theSummer andWinter Olympics.[27]
Chong unexpectedly resigned from cabinet on November 27, 2006, to express his opposition to a motion before the House of Commons, put forward by Prime Minister Harper, which recognized "the Québécois as anation within a united Canada". Chong said that the motion was akin toethnic nationalism, which he opposes. During the press conference he held to announce his decision, he said "I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada".[28]
As a backbench MP, Chong proposed theReform Act(An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Parliament of Canada Act (candidacy and caucus reforms)) in order to increase the power of party caucuses.[29] The Act ultimately passed the House of Commons and Senate, with amendments, and was given royal assent in 2015. Under the act, each caucus votes at the beginning of each parliament on whether or not it will adopt the Act's procedures giving the caucus the power to review and, if it wishes, remove the party leader, for the election and review of the caucus chair, the expulsion and re-admission of caucus members, and the election of the interim leader.[30]
The Conservative Party was defeated in the2015 federal election, and Harper immediately resigned as party leader. Despite not having served in Harper's cabinet for nine years, Chong's name was among those mentioned in the media as a potential candidate for party leader. When asked about a leadership bid in November 2015, Chong responded "let's wait and see."[31] In early 2016, the Conservative Party announced that theleadership election would be held on May 27, 2017. On May 16, 2016, Chong launched his campaign at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, becoming the third candidate to enter the race.[32]
Chong's leadership bid was endorsed by MP and former Environment MinisterPeter Kent, as well as MPDavid Tilson. Chong also received the support of Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP)Ted Arnott and former MPsChungsen Leung andMike Wallace.[33][34]
Chong is in favour of implementing what he describes as a revenue-neutralcarbon tax.[35]
Chong stated publicly that he supportsMotion 103, which calls on the government to condemnIslamophobia in Canada and all other forms of religious and racial discrimination.[36] Chong was one of two Conservative MPs, the other beingSimcoe North MPBruce Stanton, and the only leadership candidate to vote for the motion.[37]
On February 22, 2021, Chong lead a successful opposition motion in theHouse of Commons to recognize thehuman rights abuses against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of China as genocide.[38] Chong also served as the vice chair of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE), whose Subcommittee on International Human Rights presented a report in March 2021 that concluded thatcrimes against humanity andgenocide had taken place in Xinjiang. That month, Canada imposed sanctions on individuals and entities in connection with whatPrime Minister Justin Trudeau called "gross and systemic human rights violations in theXinjiang region". In response, the government of the People's Republic of China deployed countermeasures, which included imposing sanctions on Chong and the FAAE's Subcommittee on International Human Rights.Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau andForeign Affairs MinisterMarc Garneau condemned the sanctions.[39]
After the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chong was similarlysanctioned by government of the Russian Federation after the Canadian government sanctioned many Russian officials close toVladimir Putin over the Ukrainian invasion.[40] In a March 2022 op ed, Chong said Canada should seek to "isolate Russia internationally" and called for censorship of RT (Russia Today) from Canadian networks.[41]
It was reported in May 2023 that Chong's family in Hong Kong was targeted following the Uyghur genocide vote, including by a Chinese diplomat named Zhao Wei. Wei was later declaredpersona non grata by Foreign Affairs MinisterMélanie Joly.[42][43] TheRoyal Canadian Mounted Police subsequently opened an investigation into efforts toChinese government election interference efforts in Canada.[44][45] In August 2023, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs stated that Chong and his family had been the target of an onlinedisinformation operation by the Chinese government.[46]
| 2021 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 35,257 | 52.1 | +4.7 | $85,518.39 | |||
| Liberal | Melanie Lang | 18,384 | 27.2 | -1.2 | $81,741.49 | |||
| New Democratic | Noor Jahangir | 7,050 | 10.4 | +1.1 | $4,753.21 | |||
| People's | Syl Carle | 4,359 | 6.4 | +4.2 | $18,769.54 | |||
| Green | Ran Zhu | 2,606 | 3.9 | -8.8 | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 67,656 | 99.3 | – | $127,586.25 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 448 | 0.7 | ||||||
| Turnout | 68,104 | 67.3 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 101,212 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +3.0 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[47] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 33,044 | 47.4 | -3.2 | $78,757.50 | |||
| Liberal | Lesley Barron | 19,777 | 28.4 | -8.18 | $70,168.78 | |||
| Green | Ralph Martin | 8,851 | 12.7 | 8.61 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Andrew Bascombe | 6,499 | 9.3 | 0.86 | none listed | |||
| People's | Syl Carle | 1,509 | 2.2 | - | $6,565.51 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 69,680 | 100.0 | $122,383.64 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 359 | |||||||
| Turnout | 70,039 | 70.8 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 98,901 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +2.49 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[48][49][50] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 32,482 | 50.90 | -12.83 | $114,808.31 | |||
| Liberal | Don Trant | 23,279 | 36.48 | +20.16 | $82,917.29 | |||
| New Democratic | Anne Gajerski-Cauley | 5,321 | 8.34 | -4.66 | $11,740.16 | |||
| Green | Brent Allan Bouteiller | 2,547 | 3.99 | -2.41 | $2,190.90 | |||
| Canadian Action | Harvey Edward Anstey | 183 | 0.29 | -0.27 | $381.96 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 63,812 | 100.00 | $230,272.85 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 185 | 0.28 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 63,977 | 71.36 | +4.09 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 89,653 | |||||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -16.5 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[51][52] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 35,132 | 63.70 | +6.07 | – | |||
| Liberal | Barry Peters | 9,034 | 16.38 | -5.95 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Anastasia Zavarella | 7,146 | 12.96 | +3.59 | – | |||
| Green | Brent Bouteiller | 3,527 | 6.37 | -3.47 | 9,592.53 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Jeffrey Streutker | 316 | 0.57 | -0.24 | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,155 | 100.00 | $89,278.64 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 154 | 0.28 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 55,309 | 67.27 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 82,215 | – | – | |||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +6.01 | ||||||
| 2008 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 29,191 | 57.63 | +6.97 | $67,429 | |||
| Liberal | Bruce Bowser | 11,312 | 22.33 | -6.83 | $71,000 | |||
| Green | Brent Bouteiller | 4,987 | 9.84 | +3.74 | $1,497 | |||
| New Democratic | Noel Duignan | 4,747 | 9.37 | -2.94 | $800 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Jeffrey Streutker | 414 | 0.81 | -0.29 | $416 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,651 | 100.00 | $85,604 | |||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +6.9 | ||||||
| 2006 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 27,907 | 50.75 | +7.95 | $73,993 | |||
| Liberal | Rod Finnie | 16,065 | 29.22 | -8.99 | $55,605 | |||
| New Democratic | Noel Duignan | 6,785 | 12.34 | +0.43 | $5,496 | |||
| Green | Brent Bouteiller | 3,362 | 6.11 | +0.68 | $1,102 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Carol Ann Krusky | 606 | 1.10 | -0.54 | $4,944 | |||
| Independent | Mike Wisniewski | 355 | 0.65 | – | $1,174 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 55,080 | 100.00 | – | $78,546 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 162 | 0.29 | +0.13 | |||||
| Turnout | 55,242 | 71.05 | +4.02 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 77,756 | – | – | |||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | +8.47 | ||||||
| 2004 Canadian federal election:Wellington—Halton Hills | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Michael Chong | 21,479 | 42.81 | – | $64,026 | |||
| Liberal | Bruce Hood | 19,173 | 38.21 | – | $73,831 | |||
| New Democratic | Noel Duignan | 5,974 | 11.91 | – | $13,594 | |||
| Green | Brent Bouteiller | 2,725 | 5.43 | – | $799 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Pat Woode | 826 | 1.65 | – | $2,304 | |||
| Total valid votes | 50,177 | 100.00 | $75,799 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 205 | 0.16 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 50,382 | 67.03 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 75,160 | – | – | |||||
| 2000 Canadian federal election:Waterloo—Wellington | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Lynn Myers | 19,619 | 43.66 | -0.34 | $64,568.53 | |||
| Alliance | John Reimer | 14,797 | 32.93 | +1.6 | $47,962.31 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Michael Chong | 7,999 | 17.80 | -0.31 | $24,282.50 | |||
| New Democratic | Allan Douglas Strong | 1,845 | 4.11 | -2.45 | $1,588.58 | |||
| Green | Brent Bouteiller | 432 | 0.96 | $206.62 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Peter Ellis | 249 | 0.55 | $2,148.45 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 44,941 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 156 | 0.28 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 45,097 | 58.11 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 77,610 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -0.97 | ||||||
All electoral information is taken fromElections Canada. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.
| 28th Ministry – Cabinet ofStephen Harper | ||
| Cabinet posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Lucienne Robillard | President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada 2006 | Peter Van Loan |
| Lucienne Robillard | Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs 2006 | Peter Van Loan |
| Special Cabinet Responsibilities | ||
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
| Stephen Owen | Minister for Sport 2006 | Peter Van Loan |
| Parliament of Canada | ||
| Preceded by riding created in 2004 | Member of Parliament forWellington—Halton Hills 2004–present | Succeeded by incumbent |