South African Canadian
South African Canadians are Canadians of South African descent. Most South African Canadians are White South Africans, mostly of British and Afrikaner ancestry. According to the 2021 Canada census there were 51,590 South African-born immigrants in ...
businesswoman, investor, author, and television personality. She is the general partner of District Ventures Capital and CEO of Venturepark. Dickinson joined the cast of the CBC business reality show '' Dragons' Den'' during its second season in 2007 and departed in the ninth season in 2015. She then returned to continue with the Dragons for the 12th season in 2017. She was selected to perform on the series after she won numerous awards, including Calgary Business Owner of the Year, ''PROFIT'' magazine's Top 100 Women Business Owners, the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards and Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100. The show describes her as a self-made multi-millionaire.
Personal life
Born in
Germiston
Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as ...
,
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...
, and raised in Canada, Dickinson graduated from high school in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
, Alberta. She married at age 19 and had four children. She divorced at 31. She has seven grandchildren.
Politically, Dickinson identifies as non-partisan. When her former ''Dragons' Den'' co-star
Kevin O'Leary
Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary (born 9 July 1954), also known as Mr. Wonderful, is a Canadians, Canadian businessman, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, and television personality. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows. ...
entered the leadership race for the
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
, she responded by saying that he "has this notion that greed is good." Afterwards, she criticized O'Leary for confusing the national debt with the deficit.
Business
Dickinson joined Venture Communications in 1988, taking sole ownership in 1998. In October 2012, she launched Arlene Dickinson Enterprises (ADE) to fund and target Canada's entrepreneurs.
Over the years, Dickinson has served on boards including Ad Rodeo, Kids Help Phone, and the Calgary Municipal Lands Corporation. She sits on the advisory committee of the Stratford Institute at the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
, the Leadership Council of the
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI, Perimeter, PITP) is an independent research centre in foundational theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1999. The institute's founding and major benefactor is ...
as well as the editorial advisory board of '' Marketing Magazine''. In October 2016, Dickinson was appointed to the board of directors of Aphria, a licensed medical marijuana producer.
Books
In 2011, Dickinson published her first book, ''Persuasion'', her
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...
. Her second book, ''All In'', subtitled "You, Your Business, Your Life", was released in 2013.
In 2019, Dickinson released her third book, ''Reinvention: Changing Your Life, Your Career, Your Future''.
Media
Dickinson starred as a dragon investor on '' Dragons' Den'', starting in 2007 for the second season. She also starred in her own spinoff, ''
The Big Decision
''The Big Decision'' is a Canadian reality television / documentary series based on the British series '' Gerry's Big Decision''. Broadcast on CBC Television, the series features struggling Canadian businesses which are seeking advice and fundin ...
''. In 2015, Dickinson announced that she was leaving ''Dragons' Den'' after the ninth season. She returned for season 12 in 2017.
In 2012, Dickinson guest starred as a past version of herself on the Canadian TV series ''
Murdoch Mysteries
''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...
'', in the episode called "Invention Convention", as a possible investor. She has also appeared as a judge on ''
Recipe to Riches
''Recipe to Riches'' is a Canadian television reality show, in which home cooks from around the country competed to have their recipe become a President's Choice product.Under New Management'', a television special in which she guided aspiring new entrepreneurs in the process of purchasing a business.
In 2018, Dickinson and singer
Jann Arden
Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is famous for her signature ballads, " Could I Be Your Girl" and " Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date.
Early life and educa ...
debuted as cohosts of ''The Business of Life'', a lifestyle podcast on topics such as entrepreneurship, motherhood, writing, relationships and navigating life challenges.
Awards
Dickinson has been inducted into Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame. In 2014, Dickinson was one of the recipients of the
Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards
The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country."
Overview
First ...
presented by
Canadian Immigrant Magazine
''Canadian Immigrant'' is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alb ...
. Her company Venture Communications was noted as one of the 2001 winners on the list of Canada's Best Managed Companies sponsored by
Deloitte
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'',
Queen's School of Business
Smith School of Business (formerly Queen's School of Business) is a business school affiliated with Queen's University at Kingston. It is located at the university's Goodes Hall. Since July 2021, the school's dean has been Wanda Costen.
The Sch ...
and MacKay CEO Forums.
Commonwealth honours
Honorary degrees
Honorary military appointments
Humanitarianism
Dickinson was the national spokesperson for Breakfast Clubs of Canada to help raise awareness of the importance of children having a nutritious start to the day. In 2013, she joined on as a champion of the Give a Day campaign, in support of
Dignitas International
Dignitas International is a medical and research organization, which is dedicated to improving access to lifesaving treatment and care for HIV, TB and related diseases in resource-limited settings. Dignitas was founded by James Orbinski and Jam ...