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%. In 2011, she was re-elected with 58% of the vote compared to 18% for her nearest rival. 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%. On May 18, 2011, Wong was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of State for Seniors. 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. 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. 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.
