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Michael David Chong (born November 22, 1971) is a Canadian politician who has represented the Ontario riding of Wellington—Halton Hills in the House of Commons since 2004. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Sport, as well as the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada from February to November 2006. On September 8, 2020, Chong was appointed the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Chong began his career on Bay Street before entering politics. He ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2017, coming in fifth place out of fourteen candidates.
Chong attended Trinity College at the University of Toronto where he studied philosophy, history and politics. In his final year at university he landed a job with Canadian Tire as an assistant to a senior executive. 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 of Pearson International Airport and prior to entering politics he worked for the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
Chong was a founding member of The Dominion Institute.Jon Willing, "Group preserves memories of aging war veterans before it's too late", Guelph Mercury, 20 August 2004, A3. 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 both Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. Her great-great grandfather was William Whiteway, a pro-Confederation politician and three-time premier of the colony 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.
Chong declared his personal support for the Kyoto Protocol during the 2004 federal election, despite his party's opposition to the measure."Tory candidate likes Kyoto, even if his party doesn't", Guelph Mercury, 26 June 2004, A5. He supported Elizabeth Witmer's bid to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in 2001–02, and supported John Tory for the same position in 2004.Ross Marowits, "Eves may be front-runner but he's no shoo-in to lead Tory party, say members", Canadian Press, 2 December 2001, 11:49 report; Joanne Shuttleworth, "Tory takes over", Guelph Mercury, 20 September 2004, A1.
Chong wrote an opinion editorial for The Globe and Mail newspaper in late 2004 entitled "Canadians without hyphens", criticizing John Barber's suggestion that there were not enough Chinese-Canadian MPs representing areas with large Chinese populations. Chong noted he was elected in a riding with a 97% Caucasian population, while John McCallum was elected in Markham—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".Michael Chong, "Canadian without hyphens", The Globe and Mail, 23 November 2004, A25.
Like most Conservative MPs, Chong voted against the legal recognition of same-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.Janice Tibbetts, "Same-sex debate's over, Harper says", Montreal Gazette, 8 December 2006, A1.
Chong has opposed using the Great 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.Greg Mercer, "Water protection high on Chong's list", Guelph Mercury, 17 February 2006, A1; Vic Kirsch, "Ont. MP promises Tories will fight move to end rural home mail delivery", Canadian Press, 17 October 2006, 20:49 report.
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".Elizabeth Thompson, "Federal Throne Speech must address fiscal imbalance", Montreal Gazette, 28 March 2006, A14; "Parliament is back, but don't panic", Winnipeg Free Press, 3 April 2006, A11. Some politicians in Ontario expressed concern that the deal would be unduly favourable to Quebec and unfavourable to their province.Tonda MacCharles and Robert Benzie, "Officials deny deal made with Quebec", Toronto Star, 29 July 2006, A4. Later in the year, Harper government indicated that it would automatically transfer future surpluses to the provinces.Bill Curry, "Ottawa offers provinces surplus money", The Globe and Mail, 11 August 2006, A13.
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.John Ivison, "$3B more for provinces in plan payments", National Post, 21 September 2006, A1.
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."The high price of gold", Ottawa Citizen, 28 February 2006, A8. He represented the Harper government as a representative at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.James Christie, "Canadian team falls short of 100-medal goal", The Globe and Mail, 27 March 2006, S6. This funding did not appear in the 2006 budget, although the Harper government introduced an annual sports tax credit of $80 per child.John Kernaghan, "Sports tax credit saves $80 a year per child", Hamilton Spectator, 3 May 2006, A11. 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 in Montreal, Quebec.Susan Riley, "Liberals: please call home", Ottawa Citizen, 9 June 2006, A14. The following month, Chong provided $395,000 to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, to make its collection accessible online."Grant of $395,000 to put Canada's Sports Hall of Fame info on Internet", Canadian Press, 26 July 2006, 15:16 report. He has also discussed the possibility of restarting Canada's ParticipACTION program, which encourages ordinary citizens to become more involved in sports and athletic events."What government is doing to fight obesity", CTV Question Period, 3 September 2006. The program was restarted in February 2007, after Chong resigned from cabinet."Ottawa revives ParticipACTION campaign to promote fitness", National Post, 17 February 2007, 17 February 2007, A10; "ParticipACTION is Back" press, Canada NewsWire, 19 February 2007, 16:13.
Chong pledged $3.5 million to the 2008 North American Indigenous Games in early November 2006.Jeff Rud, "Ottawa puts $3.5 million in Games", Vancouver Sun, 4 November 2006, B8. Later in the same month, he announced the creation of Podium Canada to consolidate Canada's medal strategies for the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics.James Christie, "New Podium Canada body created", The Globe and Mail (Breaking News), 24 November 2006.
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 a nation within a united Canada". Chong said that the motion was akin to ethnic nationalism, which he opposes. During the press conference he held to announce his decision, he said "I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada".Bill Curry, "Canada's history, family's history held sway", The Globe and Mail, 28 November 2006, A8; "Three cheers for Michael Chong" editorial, National Post, 28 November 2006, A18; Tonda MacCharles, "Tory minister quits over Quebec vote", Toronto Star, 28 November 2006, A1.
Chong's leadership bid was endorsed by MP and former Environment Minister Peter Kent, as well as MP David Tilson. Chong also received the support of Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Ted Arnott and former MPs Chungsen Leung and Mike Wallace.
Chong is in favour of implementing what he describes as a revenue-neutral carbon tax.
Chong stated publicly that he supports Motion 103, which calls on the government to condemn Islamophobia in Canada and all other forms of religious and racial discrimination. Chong was one of two Conservative MPs, the other being Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton, and the only leadership candidate to vote for the motion.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chong was similarly sanctioned by government of the Russian Federation after the Canadian government sanctioned many Russian officials close to Vladimir Putin over the Ukrainian invasion. 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.
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 declared persona non grata by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police subsequently opened an investigation into efforts to Chinese government election interference efforts in Canada. In August 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Chong and his family had been the target of an online disinformation operation by the Chinese government.
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