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John van Dongen

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John van Dongen
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Abbotsford South
Abbotsford-Clayburn (2001–2009)
Abbotsford (1995–2001)
In office
May 3, 1995 – May 14, 2013
Preceded byHarry de Jong
Succeeded byDarryl Plecas
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries of British Columbia
In office
June 5, 2001 – January 28, 2003
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byEd Conroy
Succeeded byStan Hagen
In office
April 3, 2003 – June 16, 2005
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byStan Hagen
Succeeded byPat Bell
Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations of British Columbia
In office
June 16, 2005 – June 23, 2008
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded bySindi Hawkins
Succeeded byJoan McIntyre
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia
In office
April 1, 2008 – April 27, 2009
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byJohn Les
Succeeded byRich Coleman
Personal details
Born (1949-12-13) December 13, 1949 (age 74)[1]
Vancouver, British Columbia
Political partyBC Liberals (1995–2012)
BC Conservatives (2012)
Independent (since 2012)
Spouse(s)
Karen van Dongen
​
(divorced)​

Sherri Wacker
ResidenceAbbotsford, British Columbia
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
Occupationfarmer

John van Dongen (born December 13, 1949) is a Canadian politician who formerly served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the riding of Abbotsford from 1995 to 2001, Abbotsford-Clayburn from 2001 to 2009, and Abbotsford South from 2009 to 2013.[2] Part of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus from 1995 to 2012, he served in several cabinet posts under Premier Gordon Campbell. He briefly sat in the legislature as a member of the BC Conservatives in 2012, before leaving that party later that year to serve out the remainder of his term as an independent politician.

Background

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John van Dongen was born in 1949 as the eldest of seven children, months after his parents immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands.[1][3] They initially operated a dairy farm in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia before moving to Delta. He studied agricultural economics at the University of British Columbia,[4] graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree.[1]

He started his dairy farm in Dewdney in 1975 before moving it to Matsqui (now part of Abbotsford), and in 1979 won election as member of the board of the Fraser Valley Milk Producers' Association.[1] He proceeded to serve on the boards of the B.C. Dairy Foundation, Agrifoods International Co-operative (Dairyland Canada), B.C. Federation of Dairymen's Association and the federal Farm Debt Review Board.[1][4]

He was formerly married to Karen, with whom he has two sons.[4][5] He had since married Sherri Wacker, his former constituency assistant.[1][5]

Politics

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Following the resignation of Harry de Jong as MLA for Abbotsford in 1994, van Dongen ran in the 1995 by-election as a BC Liberal candidate, and was elected to the legislature.[6] He was re-elected in 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2009. While the Liberals were in opposition, he served as agriculture and fisheries critic.[4][7]

With the Liberals gaining power in 2001, he was named to the cabinet by Premier Gordon Campbell as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.[8] He was removed from the post in January 2003 while under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police regarding a decision to terminate a government probe into a salmon farm,[9] but was reinstated that April.[8]

After winning re-election in 2005, he was re-assigned Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations, serving in that role until June 2008.[8] He was named Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General in April 2008, following the resignation of John Les from that post.[8][10]

On April 24, 2009, van Dongen announced that the BC Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, a department for which he is responsible in the legislature, had suspended his driver's licence for a period of four months. In an interview with CBC Radio van Dongen said the suspension was a result of his being cited twice in one year for driving in excess of 41 km/h above the posted speed limit. Van Dongen had featured prominently in anti-speeding advertising campaigns for the provincial government.[11] Three days later, van Dongen resigned as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.[10][12][13]

He stayed on as the Liberal candidate for the new riding of Abbotsford South in the 2009 provincial election, and was re-elected MLA.[3] He was subsequently appointed party whip,[14] and continued in his roles as Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Government Services, and Chair of the Caucus Committee on Government Restructuring.[1] In 2010, he was appointed as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer for BC.

On March 26, 2012, van Dongen announced he was leaving the BC Liberal Party to sit as the only BC Conservative Party MLA in the legislature.[15][16] He cited the leadership of Christy Clark, who replaced Campbell as premier and party leader in 2011, as a factor in his departure from the Liberals.[5] He then announced his resignation from the Conservative Party on September 22, 2012, and sat for the remainder of the 39th Parliament as an independent MLA.[17]

He ran in the May 2013 provincial election as an independent candidate, and lost to Darryl Plecas of the Liberal Party.[18]

Election results

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2013 British Columbia general election: Abbotsford South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Darryl Plecas 9,564 47.74 −10.73
Independent John van Dongen 5,587 27.89 –30.58
New Democratic Lakhvinder Jhaj 4,210 21.01 –4.64
Marijuana Steve Finlay 417 2.08 –
Excalibur Patricia Smith 256 1.28 –
Total valid votes 20,032 100.00
Total rejected ballots 202 1.00
Turnout 20,234 55.77
Liberal hold Swing
Net change for van Dongen is in comparison to his 2009 vote percentage. Net change for Plecas is in comparison to the 2009 Liberal vote percentage; in other words the same basis as van Dongen.
Source: Elections BC[19]
2009 British Columbia general election: Abbotsford South
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal John van Dongen 9,566 58.47
New Democratic Bonnie Rai 4,197 25.65
Green Daniel Bryce 1,244 7.61
Conservative Gurcharan Dhaliwal 1,019 6.23
Independent Tim Felger 334 2.04
Total valid votes 16,360 100.00
Total rejected ballots 205 1.25
Turnout 16,565 48.75
Registered voters 33,979
Liberal hold Swing
Source: Elections BC[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "BC Dairy Industry Achievement Award". BC Dairy Historical Society. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  2. ^ ISBN 0787635618
  3. ^ a b "39th Parliament Members at dissolution on April 16, 2013: MLA: John van Dongen". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "36th Parliament Members at dissolution on April 18, 2001: Mr. John van Dongen". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c MacLeod, Andrew (March 26, 2012). "Saying Libs 'Headed for Failure,' van Dongen Defects to Cons". The Tyee. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Report of the Chief Electoral Officer: By-Election: Abbotsford Electoral District: May 3, 1995" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "Executive Council Biographies". Office of the Premier of British Columbia. January 26, 2004. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Campbell Cabinet: 37th Parliament 2001-2005, 38th Parliament 2005-2009, 39th Parliament 2009-2011" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Fish farm critics take aim at Hagen". CBC News. January 29, 2003. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Paulsen, Monte (April 27, 2009). "Van Dongen resigns over speeding tickets, remains a candidate". The Tyee. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Palmer, Vaughn (April 25, 2009). "Lead-foot Van Dongen 'fesses up -- a week after his licence was lifted". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009.
  12. ^ Hunter, Justine (April 27, 2009). "B.C. Solicitor-General resigns". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  13. ^ Hui, Stephen (April 27, 2009). "Solicitor General John van Dongen resigns after licence suspended". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Reaction to the resignation of B.C. Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell". The Tyee. The Canadian Press. November 3, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  15. ^ Lindsay, Bethany (March 26, 2012). "Van Dongen ditches BC Liberals, joins Conservatives". CTV News. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "John van Dongen joins the BC Conservative Party | British Columbia's Conservatives". www.bcconservative.ca. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  17. ^ "John van Dongen resigns from B.C. Conservative Party". CBC News. September 22, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  18. ^ "Delta South's Vicki Huntington is sole Independent elected". CBC News. May 14, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  19. ^ "2013 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". Elections BC. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  20. ^ "2009 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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