[1][2][3][4] Ronning was born in Fancheng, China, now in Xiangyang, Hubei province, the son of Norwegian American Lutheran missionaries, and graduated from the University of Alberta in 1916 with a B.Sc.
Halvor Ronning, Chester's father, was instrumental in establishing a Norwegian settlement north-west of Grande Prairie called Valhalla Centre.
When Chester Ronning started his studies at the University of Alberta, he travelled by horse from Valhalla Centre to Edmonton along the Edson Trail.
Ronning ran unsuccessfully for the CCF in the 1945 federal election in the riding of Camrose, losing to the Social Credit candidate, James Alexander Marshall.
He also participated in the international commissions on Korea (1954) and Laos (1961–62) and undertook special missions to Hanoi (1965–66) in attempts to mediate the Vietnam War.