John van Dongen

The Honourable John van Dongen MLA
File:JohnvanDongen.jpg
MLA for Abbotsford
In office 1995–2001
Preceded by	Harry de Jong
Succeeded by	riding dissolved
MLA for Abbotsford-Clayburn
In office 2001–2009
Preceded by	first member
Succeeded by	riding dissolved
MLA for Abbotsford South
In office 2009–2013
Succeeded by	Darryl Plecas
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries of British Columbia
In office June 5, 2001 – January 28, 2003
Premier	Gordon Campbell
Preceded by	Ed Conroy
Succeeded by	Stan Hagen
In office April 3, 2003 – June 16, 2005
Preceded by	Stan Hagen
Succeeded by	Pat Bell
Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations of British Columbia
In office June 16, 2005 – June 23, 2008
Premier	Gordon Campbell
Preceded by	Sindi Hawkins
Succeeded by	Joan McIntyre
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia
In office April 1, 2008 – April 27, 2009
Premier	Gordon Campbell
Preceded by	John Les
Succeeded by	Rich Coleman
Personal details
Born	(1949-12-13) December 13, 1949 Vancouver, British Columbia
Political party	Liberal (1995-2012) Conservative (2012) Independent (2012-present)

John van Dongen (born December 13, 1949) was a Member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the riding of Abbotsford South, in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. At one time, van Dongen was one of the longest serving BC Liberal MLAs in the BC Legislature. He was first elected in 1995 in a by-election and was re-elected in 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2009. 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. He competed in the May 2013 election running as an independent and lost to Darryl Plecas.

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 featured prominently in anti-speeding advertising campaigns for the provincial government in recent years. Three days later, van Dongen resigned as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor-General.

After the 2009 provincial election, van Dongen was appointed Party Whip, 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. 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 crossed the floor of the Legislative Assembly to become the first BC Conservative Party Member of the Legislative Assembly. On September 22, 2012, he then announced he was resigning from the BC Conservative Party to sit as an independent.

Election results

B.C. General Election 2013: Abbotsford South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Darryl Plecas	9,564	47.74
	Independent	John van Dongen	5,587	27.89
	New Democratic	Lakhvinder Jhaj	4,210	21.01
	Marijuana	Steve Finlay	418	2.09
	Excalibur	Patricia Smith	256	1.28
Total Valid Votes			20,035
Total Rejected Ballots
Turnout

B.C. General Election 2009 Abbotsford South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John van Dongen	9,566	58.47%	n/a
	NDP	Bonnie Rai	4,197	25.65%	n/a
	Green	Daniel Bryce	1,244	7.61%	n/a
	Conservative	Gurcharan Dhaliwal	1,019	6.23%	n/a
	Independent	Tim Felger	334	2.04%	n/a
Total			16,360	100.00%

External links

• MLA Website