Alice Wong

Alice Siu-Ping Chan Wong PC MP (traditional Chinese: 黃陳小萍; simplified Chinese: 黄陈小萍; Jyutping: Wong4 Can4 Siu2 Ping4, born June 30, 1948) is a Canadian politician of the Conservative Party serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Richmond Centre since 2015. She previously served as the MP for Richmond from 2008 to 2015. In 2011 she was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to be Minister of State for Seniors, becoming the first Chinese-Canadian woman to serve in the Cabinet of Canada, and serving in that position until 2015.

For the American disability activist, see Alice Wong (activist).

The Honourable Alice Wong PC MP
黃陳小萍
Opposition Critic for Seniors
Incumbent
Assumed office August 30, 2017
Leader	Andrew Scheer
Preceded by	Mark Warawa
Minister of State for Seniors
In office May 18, 2011 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Julian Fantino
Succeeded by	Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development)
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Richmond Centre Richmond (2008–2015)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 14, 2008
Preceded by	Raymond Chan
Personal details
Born	(1948-06-30) June 30, 1948 Hong Kong
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Enoch Wong
Residence	Richmond, British Columbia
Profession	Educator, entrepreneur

Early life

Wong immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1980. She is a businesswoman and educator. She holds a Ph.D. in Instruction and Curriculum from the University of British Columbia and worked as the manager of international programs at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She also has taught ESL and entrepreneurship classes at Vancouver Community College where she founded the Centre for Small Business at VCC, which offered the first bilingual small business management classes for immigrants. Wong has also operated a consulting firm specializing in research and education.

She has served on the boards of various community organizations including the Rotary Club of Richmond, Rosewood Manor in Richmond, Benevolent Relief Seniors Care Society, Ethno Business Council, Chiu Chow Benevolent Association, and the Women's Enterprise Society of BC. She is a guest host on local Chinese and multicultural radio and television. Wong founded the Richmond Greenspace Society to promote green space in urban settings, improving passport office efficiency, raising funds to improve the safety of senior pedestrians, and raising funds for the Sichuan earthquake relief. She has been married to her husband Enoch since 1982.

Member of Parliament

Wong was first elected in 2008 in the riding of Richmond with 50% of the votes cast, compared to the incumbent Raymond Chan, who received 31%.[1] In 2011, she was re-elected with 58% of the vote compared to 18% for her nearest rival.[2] In 2015 she was re-elected in the riding of Richmond Centre with 44.2% of the vote compared to her nearest rival's 41.4%.[3]

On May 18, 2011, Wong was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of State for Seniors.[4] Reelected in 2015, she left the Cabinet as the Liberal Party gained a majority in the House of Commons.

She was re-elected in the 2019 federal election.

Political views

In the fall of 2012, Alice Wong stated that the government's top priorities focuses on job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity.[5]

Her environmental platform has been criticized by the opposition for her views regarding shark fin soup because she was seen publicly eating the soup at a news conference in October 2012.[6] Many environmentalists condemn the process of "shark finning."

Wong refused to play a role in the Canada Summer jobs program over the human rights statement supporting abortion and LGBT rights.[7]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Alice Wong	19,037	49.0%	+4.8
	Liberal	Steven Kou	11,052	28.5%	-12.8
	New Democratic	Dustin Innes	5,617	14.5%	+3.0
	Green	Françoise Raunet	2,376	6.1%	+3.3
	People's	Ivan Pak	538	1.4%	–
	Independent	Zhe Zhang	197	0.5%	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			38,817	100.0	–	$102,820.08
Total rejected ballots			371	0.95%	–
Turnout			39,188	53.4%	–
Eligible voters			73,450
	Conservative hold		Swing		–
Source: Elections Canada[8][9]

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Alice Wong	17,622	44.21	-13.86	$154,059.88
	Liberal	Lawrence Woo	16,486	41.36	+22.61	$110,802.58
	New Democratic	Jack Trovato	4,602	11.54	-6.66	$11,679.42
	Green	Vincent Chiu	1,152	2.89	-2.10	$2,372.74
Total valid votes/Expense limit			39,862	100.00		$202,743.02
Total rejected ballots			227	0.57	–
Turnout			40,089	58.11	–
Eligible voters			68,991
	Conservative hold		Swing		-18.23
Source: Elections Canada[10][11]

2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Alice Wong	25,109	58.36	+8.59	$89,330.05
	Liberal	Joe Peschisolido	8,027	18.66	-12.19	$54,757.85
	New Democratic	Dale Jackaman	7,860	18.27	+6.46	$9,038.79
	Green	Michael Wolfe	2,032	4.72	-1.71	$2,933.09
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,028	100.0		$91,788.64
Total rejected ballots			220	0.51	+0.06
Turnout			43,248	50.97	+1
Eligible voters			84,855
	Conservative hold		Swing		+10.39

2008 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Alice Wong	21,329	49.77	+11.08	$79,037
	Liberal	Raymond Chan	13,221	30.85	-11.98	$78,275
	New Democratic	Dale Jackaman	5,059	11.81	-2.17	$14,221
	Green	Michael Wolfe	2,754	6.43	+1.93	$1,900
	Independent	Wei Ping Chen	397	0.93	–	$6,851
	Independent	Dobie Yiu-Chung To	93	0.22	–	$1,813
Total valid votes/Expense limit			42,878	100.0		$86,879
Total rejected ballots			192	0.45	0.01
Turnout			43,070	52	-4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+11.53

2004 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Raymond Chan	18,204	44.48	+2.44	$64,433
	Conservative	Alice Wong	14,457	35.32	-14.51	$71,614
	New Democratic	Dale Jackaman	6,142	15.00	+9.32	$11,072
	Green	Stephen H.F. Kronstein	1,743	4.25	+2.36	$160
	Canadian Action	Allan Warnke	376	0.91	–	$625
Total valid votes			40,922	100.0
Total rejected ballots			226	0.55	+0.08
Turnout			41,148	62.29	+0.59
	Liberal hold		Swing		+8.48

References

1. "Wong, Fry among winners in B.C. battlegrounds". CTV News. October 15, 2008. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
2. "Conservatives sweep Richmond ridings". Richmond Review. BCLocalNews.com. May 3, 2011. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
3. "Official Voting Results". www.elections.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
4. "Stephen Harper's new cabinet includes Metro Vancouver's Alice Wong, James Moore". The Georgia Straight. May 18, 2011. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
5. "Helping 1,600 Canadians with disabilities getting jobs". Alice Wong, MP website. October 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
6. "NDP criticizes Tory MP for eating shark fin soup". CBC News. October 13, 2012. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
7. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/alice-wong-summer-job-grants-attestation-1.4605632 CBC News, April 6, 2018.
8. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
9. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
10. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Richmond Centre, 30 September 2015
11. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Alice Wong official site
• Profile at Parliament of Canada
• Alice Wong – Parliament of Canada biography
• Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca

28th Ministry – Cabinet of Stephen Harper
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Julian Fantino	Minister of State for Seniors 2011–2015	Post abolished