Rocky Dong is a name that’s hard to forget.

Dong punched his way into the national political conversation about three weeks ago with the most unique ad of any federal candidate so far – but he insists that he, and the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), aren’t joking around.

“Hi, I’m Rocky, not Rocky Balboa… I’m Rocky Dong, a mild-mannered business man, and your People’s Party of Canada candidate for Burnaby North–Seymour,” a suited Dong says, in the opening of the video, with the last words accompanied by an obviously inserted stock-sun shimmering light over him, before the video takes an unexpected turn.

“I will fight for the values of Maxime Bernier,” Dong says donning boxing gloves featuring stickers with the PPC’s logo and his own name, in the video posted on Twitter on June 19 that’s amassed more than 60,000 views.

Dong then wails on a padded tree emblazoned with the words of policies the PPC oppose, while the MP-hopeful denounces them. After explaining a few of his party’s positions – which he also presents on his fists – Dong smiles and hoists his arms to the sky as a party streamer effect goes off.

Do yourself a favour and watch the video here:

When first asked about the ad, Dong laughs.

“You know what, I never had experience acting. It was not our intention (to be funny). We just wanted to convey the PPC’s principal and platform,” Dong said in an interview.

According to Dong, the video’s viral spread has been nothing but positive, making it a success.

The same can’t be said about the young PPC campaign as a whole. Garnering positive attention has been difficult for the young party. Visibility for the party’s platform – which Dong proudly explains as featuring promises like ending supply management, shrinking immigration and prioritizing economic immigrants into Canada – has been overshadowed by the leader’s often contentious tweets and concerns over controversial supporters.

As for Dong, he’s a former Liberal supporter. He says he volunteered for Liberal Party candidates in 2004 and 2006 in Burnaby, and cast a vote for the Liberals in 2015. But he said it’s his strong belief in the right for free speech, (something not protected in his home country of China), his alignment with what he’s heard in endless hours of interviews of PPC Leader Maxime Bernier, and a disengagement with the federal government because of its responses to the 2017 murder of a Burnaby teen that a Syrian refugee has been charged in connection with and a false report of a girl having her hijab ripped off, that pushed him to run for the PPC.

Most popular polls currently put the right-wing PPC in position to receive on the lower end of a single digit percentage of votes, but Dong rejects them, saying that all the party needs to do is grab more peoples’ attention.

“As long as I can convey our platform clearly, I think more than 50 per cent will support us,” Dong says.

To spread the word, Dong promises that more campaign videos will come.

“Through the videos we will convey our principals and platforms,” he said.

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