Mike de Jong
Mike de Jong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Finance of British Columbia | |
| In office September 5, 2012 – July 18, 2017 | |
| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Kevin Falcon |
| Succeeded by | Carole James |
| Minister of Forests of British Columbia | |
| In office June 5, 2001 – June 16, 2005 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Gordon Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Rich Coleman |
| Minister of Labour and Citizens' Services of British Columbia | |
| In office June 16, 2005 – August 15, 2006 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Graham Bruce |
| Succeeded by | Olga Ilich |
| Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation of British Columbia | |
| In office August 15, 2006 – June 10, 2009 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Tom Christensen |
| Succeeded by | George Abbott |
| Attorney General of British Columbia | |
| In office June 10, 2009 – December 1, 2010 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Wally Oppal |
| Succeeded by | Barry Penner |
| Solicitor General of British Columbia | |
| In office April 9, 2010 – October 25, 2010 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Kash Heed |
| Succeeded by | Rich Coleman |
| Minister of Health of British Columbia | |
| In office March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012 | |
| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Colin Hansen |
| Succeeded by | Margaret MacDiarmid |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Abbotsford West Abbotsford-Mount Lehman (2001-2009) Matsqui (1994-2001) | |
| Assumed office February 17, 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Albert Dueck |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1963/1964 (age 57–58) |
| Political party | Liberal |
Mike de Jong, Q.C. (born 1963 or 1964) is a provincial politician and was cabinet minister of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.[1]
Early life[]
De Jong was born to Dutch parents who immigrated to Canada after Canadian soldiers liberated the Netherlands in World War II. At age eight, he and his family moved to a farm in the District of Matsqui in British Columbia. He attended Abbotsford's last single-room elementary school and worked as farm labourer as an early teen.[2]
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University in Ottawa and a law degree from the University of Alberta.
After graduating from law school, De Jong returned to Matsqui to set up a law practice and was elected at age 26 as one of Canada's youngest school board members.[2]
Provincial politics[]
In 1994, De Jong was recruited by Gordon Campbell of the British Columbia Liberal Party to compete against new Social Credit Party leader Grace McCarthy in a byelection in Matsqui.
The Socreds had represented the riding for 42 years until De Jong defeated McCarthy by a margin of 42 votes.[2]
McCarthy had been attempting to rebuild the province's governing political party. Shortly after the loss, McCarthy resigned as Social Credit Party leader, and the party failed to elect any members in the subsequent provincial election in 1996.
De Jong was re-elected in the 1996, 2001, and 2005 elections in the new riding of Abbotsford-Mount Lehman, and in the newly created riding of Abbotsford West in the 2009 election.
De Jong was a member of the Official Opposition between 1994 and 2001. In the Liberal government, he served as government house leader
On December 1, 2010, Mike de Jong announced that he would seek the leadership of the BC Liberal Party, in the February 26, 2011 leadership election. He placed fourth in the leadership election, which was won by Christy Clark.[3]
In 2012, Mike de Jong's Ministry of Health fired seven health ministry workers without cause, Margaret MacDiarmid as his freshly appointed replacement falsely claimed that the RCMP were investigating their misbehavior.[4]
Later, after one worker committed suicide, others sued, none were charged, some got cash settlements and their jobs back, and the premier apologized, it came to light that the RCMP, for lack of evidence, had never launched any investigation at all.[5]
He was appointed minister of finance on September 5, 2012. He previously held the posts of Minister of Health,[6] attorney general, Labour and Citizen Services, Forests, Public Safety, and Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation.
Controversy[]
As an Opposition Critic, De Jong was regarded as very vocal. He was ejected from the legislative assembly for calling then-Attorney General Colin Gableman a "liar" and was later sued for libel by federal cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal.[2]
In 2004, as Minister of Forests, De Jong removed 70,000 hectares of land from TFL 44 with no compensation from the owner and against the recommendations of ministry staff. This effectively privatized what had been Crown Land without compensation to the province. The changes made allowed the wood to be exported as raw logs rather than lumber. It also allowed for its eventual development. The land in question was under dispute by the Hupacasath First Nation and also the Tseshaht First Nation. No consultation took place and the bands have since filed legal action.[7][8] He has also been linked to other such privatizations of Crown forest land.[9]
In 2010, De Jong faced further controversy when, as attorney general, he approved the payment of $6 million in legal fees for Liberal Party insiders David Basi and Robert Virk who pleaded guilty to charges of breach of trust and accepting benefits in connection with the sale of BC Rail in 2003. De Jong defended his actions saying the government's Legal Services Branch had recommended they not try to collect the funds since the aides did not have any money.[10]
Electoral record[]
| 2020 British Columbia general election: Abbotsford West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Mike de Jong | 8,880 | 45.51 | −9.72 | $46,271.14 | |||
| New Democratic | Preet Rai | 7,119 | 36.49 | +5.72 | $5,639.35 | |||
| Conservative | Michael Henshall | 1,766 | 9.05 | – | $7,727.07 | |||
| Green | Kevin Eastwood | 1,671 | 8.56 | −2.28 | $330.52 | |||
| Vision | Sukhi Gill | 75 | 0.38 | – | $2,685.00 | |||
| Total valid votes | 19,511 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[11] | ||||||||
| 2017 British Columbia general election: Abbotsford West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Mike de Jong | 11,618 | 55.23 | +4.85 | $71,415 | |||
| New Democratic | Preet Rai | 6,474 | 30.77 | +1.36 | $23,646 | |||
| Green | Kevin Allan Eastwood | 2,280 | 10.84 | +6.18 | $306 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Lynn Simcox | 516 | 2.45 | – | $1,221 | |||
| Libertarian | Dave Sharkey | 149 | 0.71 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 21,037 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 148 | 0.70 | ||||||
| Turnout | 21,185 | 57.30 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[12] | ||||||||
| 2013 British Columbia general election: Abbotsford West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Mike de Jong | 9,473 | 50.38 | |||||
| New Democratic | Sukhi Dhami | 5,530 | 29.41 | |||||
| Conservative | Paul Brian Redekopp | 1,791 | 9.53 | |||||
| Independent | Moe Gill | 1,082 | 5.75 | |||||
| Green | Stephen Carl OShea | 877 | 4.66 | |||||
| Excalibur | Kerry-Lynn Osbourne | 49 | 0.26 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 18.702 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 245 | 1.29 | ||||||
| Turnout | 18,947 | 59.38 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[13] | ||||||||
See also[]
- 2011 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election
- British Columbia Liberal Party
- BC Legislature Raids
References[]
- ^ 'Open Mike' promises a 'fresh start'; MLA Mike de Jong starts campaign by distancing himself from Premier Campbell by Ward, Doug . The Vancouver Sun 02 Dec 2010: A.2.
- ^ a b c d Shaw, Rob (23 May 2015). "Finance minister learned frugality on Fraser Valley farm". The Vancouver Sun.
- ^ B.C.’s new premier Christy Clark puts job creation, families atop agenda[permanent dead link]
- ^ Shaw, Rob. "B.C. government was wrong to fire health researchers, says ombudsperson".Vancouver Sun, April 7, 2017.
- ^ "98 BC Liberal Falsehoods, Boondoggles and Scandals: The Clark Era 53". The Tyee, April 4, 2017.
- ^ Fayerman, Pamela (26 December 2011). "BC health minister Mike de Jong: his first major interview". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Valley, Alberni (9 May 2008). "Opposition pounces on TFL 44 revelations". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- ^ "Tseshaht land claim complicates TFL removal - Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC)". Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
- ^ Damonse, Anthony (12 January 2011). "Kitimat Sentinel - 'Mistake' not adjusting min. wage". Bclocalnews.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- ^ "BC Rail defendants' $6M tab footed by taxpayers". CBC.ca. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ "Statement of Votes – 41st Provincial General Election – May 9, 2017" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
External links[]
- Living people
- Attorneys General of British Columbia
- British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs
- Canadian people of Dutch descent
- Carleton University alumni
- Finance ministers of British Columbia
- Health ministers of British Columbia
- Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia
- University of Alberta alumni
- 21st-century Canadian politicians