Michael David Chong PC MP (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.
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.
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.
[11] 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 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".
In December 2006, Chong reversed his previous position and became one of thirteen Conservative MPs to vote against re-opening the marriage debate.
[23] 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.
[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 a nation within a united Canada".
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.
Chong also received the support of Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Ted Arnott and former MPs Chungsen Leung and Mike Wallace.
[35] 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.
[36] 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.
[37] On February 22, 2021, Chong lead a successful opposition motion in the House of Commons to recognize the human rights abuses against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of China as genocide.
That month, Canada imposed sanctions on individuals and entities in connection with what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "gross and systemic human rights violations in the Xinjiang 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.
[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.
[44][45] 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.