Ida Chong ( zh, t=張杏芳, p=Zhāng Xìngfāng; born 1956 or 1957) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

for Oak Bay-Gordon Head from 1996 until 2013. As part of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

caucus, she was a provincial cabinet minister from 2004 to 2013, serving in various portfolios under premiers Gordon Campbell and

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...

. Chong and

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

MLA Jenny Kwan together became the first Chinese-Canadian members of the BC Legislative Assembly. Prior to her election as MLA, she served as municipal councillor for the District of Saanich from 1993 to 1996. In 2014 she finished third in the mayoral election of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

Background

Chong was born in Victoria as one of eight children to father Peter and mother Yokee Yee. The family resided near the city's

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

before moving to Saanich. Chong became a Certified General Accountant in 1981, and launched her own accounting firm with business partner Karen Kesteloo in 1985. She was named fellow of the Certified General Accountants of BC in 2006, and was awarded a CGA-BC lifetime membership in 2014. She was elected municipal councillor for Saanich in 1993, serving until 1996. Between 1995 and 1996 she represented Saanich at the

Capital Regional District The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional d ...

board of directors.

Provincial politics

Chong ran as the BC Liberal candidate for Oak Bay-Gordon Head in the 1996 provincial election, defeating incumbent

(NDP) candidate Elizabeth Cull to become the riding's MLA. Together with NDP MLA Jenny Kwan, Chong was one of the first two Chinese-Canadian members of the BC Legislative Assembly. She served as opposition critic for Small Business and deputy critic for Finance in her first term. Chong was re-elected in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, before losing to the Green Party's Andrew Weaver in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. Following the Liberals' landslide victory in the 2001 election, Chong was named to the Treasury Board, and served as chair of the Government Caucus Committee on Economy and Government Operations. She first entered Gordon Campbell's cabinet in January 2004 as Minister of State for Women's and Seniors' Services, before being named Minister of Advanced Education that December. She reprised the Seniors' and Women's Issues portfolio after the 2005 election, and went on to serve as Minister of Community Services; Minister Responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative; Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development; Minister of Healthy Living and Sport; Minister of Science and Universities; and Minister of Regional Economic and Skills Development under Campbell. Chong was the subject of an MLA recall under the British Columbia Recall and Initiative Act in 2010, as part of a larger campaign opposing the Liberal government's introduction of the

Harmonized Sales Tax The harmonized sales tax (HST) is a consumption tax in Canada. It is used in provinces where both the federal goods and services tax (GST) and the regional provincial sales tax (PST) have been combined into a single value-added tax. Jurisdict ...

. The recall ultimately failed, coming up short of the required signatures. After

took over as premier in 2011, Chong was named Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. She subsequently served as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation from September 2012 until the end of her term in 2013. After losing re-election in 2013, she was appointed to the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

's Board of Governors.

2014 Victoria municipal election

On September 18, 2014, Chong announced her intention to run for mayor of the City of Victoria in that November's municipal election. Chong subsequently lost, coming a distant third behind new mayor Lisa Helps, and previous mayor Dean Fortin. She then returned to practising accounting, joining Victoria firm Chan & Associates in 2018.

Community volunteer work

Chong has been an active member of the Victoria, BC community volunteering on a number of boards. *Inaugural Member, Victoria Chinese Commerce Association *Director, Victoria Dragon Boat Festival

References

External links

*
Hon. Ida Chong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Ida Canadian accountants Canadian women accountants Women government ministers of Canada Living people Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Women MLAs in British Columbia 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian people of Chinese descent Women municipal councillors in British Columbia British Columbia municipal councillors Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia BC United MLAs