Preceded by Elizabeth Cull Premier Gordon Campbell Succeeded by Andrew Weaver Preceded by Shirley Bond | Premier Gordon Campbell Name Ida Chong Succeeded by Wendy McMahon Role Political figure | |
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Party British Columbia Liberal Party | ||
About ida chong
Ida Chong (Chinese: 張杏芳; pinyin: Zhāng Xìngfāng; born 1956 or 1957) is a British Columbia politician who served as MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head from 1996 until 2013. Chong and BC NDP MLA Jenny Kwan together became the first Chinese-Canadian members of the BC Legislative Assembly. She was subject to a recall in 2010, which she survived, and was a cabinet minister for much of her career. In 2014, she ran for mayor of Victoria, BC.
Contents
- About ida chong
- Trk interviews ida chong mayoral candidate for the city of victoria
- Career
- 2010 Recall
- 2014 Victoria municipal election
- Community volunteer work
- References
Trk interviews ida chong mayoral candidate for the city of victoria
Career
Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Chong began her political career in 1993 as a municipal councillor for the District of Saanich. She ran her own accounting firm with business partner Karen Kesteloo and is a fellow of the Certified General Accountant of BC (FCGA). She was awarded a CGA-BC lifetime membership in September 2014.
Chong was the BC Liberal MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head for 17 years until she lost to the BC Green candidate Andrew Weaver in 2013. She was first elected in 1996 while the BC NDP controlled government and she served as Opposition Critic for Small Business and Deputy Critic for Finance in her first term. Together with NDP MLA Jenny Kwan, Chong was one of the first two Chinese-Canadian members of the BC Legislative Assembly when elected in 1996. Chong was re-elected in 2001, 2005, and 2009 before losing to Andrew Weaver in 2013. During her time as MLA, Chong held various cabinet positions including as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation; Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development; Minister of Science and Universities; Minister of Regional, Economic and Skills Development; Minister of Healthy Living and Sport; Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development; Minister Responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative; Minister of Community Services; Minister of Advanced Education; and Minister of State for Women's and Senior's Services.
2010 Recall
Chong was the subject of an MLA recall, under the British Columbia Recall and Initiative Act. Chong was targeted for recall as part of a larger campaign opposing the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax.
The recall ultimately failed, coming up short of the required signatures. There is unverified speculation that the pressure of the recall effort was a factor in the resignation of Premier Gordon Campbell and the conversion of the Initiative Vote to a Referendum Vote under the British Columbia Referendum Act which ultimately defeated the HST. British Columbians voted 55% in favor of extinguishing the tax and returning to the PST.
2014 Victoria municipal election
On September 18, 2014, Chong announced her intention to run for mayor of the City of Victoria in the November 2014 municipal election. Chong subsequently lost, coming a distant third behind new mayor, Lisa Helps, and previous mayor Dean Fortin.
Community volunteer work
Chong has been an active member of the Victoria, BC community volunteering on a number of boards.