(Photo : Getty Images) Michael David Chong


Chinese-Canadian Michael David Chong PC MP stands a chance at becoming Canada's first Prime Minister with Chinese and Asian heritage.



Chong, 46, is among the leading Conservative Party contenders vying to head the Tories on May 27, 2017 in a leadership election, and with this mantle the right to challenge current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party.



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Should Chong be voted head of the fractious Tories struggling to redefine themselves, he'll have a tough uphill fight against the popular Trudeau, whose lineage in Canadian politics extends to his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The elder Trudeau served as Prime Minister twice in the 1960s to the 1980s.



Chong announced his bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada last May 16. Analysts, however, believe Chong might have a tougher time than his opponents given Chong's ethnicity and the party's conservative view founded on traditional tenets of fiscal conservatism, limited federal government and "traditional" Canadian values that apparently include a tinge of xenophobia.



Chong didn't endear himself to some fellow conservatives when he opposed the party's focus on what he sees as "divisive social issues" such as the Tory election pledge to create a police hotline to report "barbaric cultural practices."



"The 'barbaric cultural practices' hotline was a mistake," said Chong. "It's one of the reasons I'm in this leadership race. That doesn't represent my Conservative Party, or my view of the country."



Chong believes it's the divisive social issues that made the Tories lose the government in October 2015.



"It's why people left the party. It's why we lost the last election ... We need a more inclusive party," he said.



Among these issues is screening immigrants for "anti-Canadian" values. The proposal is supported by a massive 87 percent of Tories and two-thirds of Canadians, said a recent Forum Research poll. Chong is against this screening.



Whether or not Chong wins the premiership, Canada is expected to maintain its cordial relations with China. Trudeau visited China earlier this month and said China should strengthen its connection to Canada to improve its image on the world stage.



Trudeau also said he plans to make real progress on a renewed relationship between the two countries. He said Canada was "looking very favorably" at possibly joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a China-led institution.



Chong's grandparents emigrated to Canada from China in 1929. His father was born in Canada and his mother was a Dutch citizen.




TagsMichael David Chong, Prime Minister, Canada, Conservative Party of Canada