Glenn Jerry van Dijken (born September 6, 1962) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the

2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...

to represent the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock in the

30th Alberta Legislature The 30th Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on April 16, 2019. The United Conservative Party (UCP), led by Jason Kenney, won a majority of seats and formed the government. The New Democrats, led by outgoing P ...

. He was re-elected in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. He currently serves on the Economy and Affordability Cabinet Policy Committee and is currently Parliamentary Secretary for Agrifood Development. Mr. Dijken also currently serves as Chair of the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future, Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices and member on the Special Standing Committee on Members' Services. He has previously served as chair of the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future and has previously been on the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices, Standing Committee on Privileges and Election, Standing Orders and Printing, Select Special Auditor General Committee, Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee as well as the Select Special Ombudsman and Public Interest Commissioner Search Committee among others. Before being elected, van Dijken was focused on his family grain farm in Dapp, Alberta. For this, he and his wife, Barb, were named Outstanding Young Farmers of Alberta in 2001. As MLA, Dijken has often spoken of the need for Alberta to have more say when it comes to its relationship with the federal government. When describing the recently introduced Sovereignty Act, Dijken describes how “We are partners in confederation, and ensuring that there are no conflicts in jurisdictions will help the governments focus on what they are responsible for so it be a true partnership". On April 7, 2021, Dijken was one of 16 other MLAs who sent a letter opposing additional covid restrictions which put limits on restaurants, stores and gyms. Dijken also sponsored Bill 206 titled the Prohibiting Ownership of Agricultural Lands (Pension Plans and Trust Corporations) Act. Dijken took issue when stakeholders came to him concerned about large firms buying up parcels of land only to sell it a few years later. Many saw this as contributing to people moving out of small towns and instead moving to bigger cities.

Electoral history

2023 general election

2019 general election

2015 general election

References

Wildrose Party MLAs Living people Farmers from Alberta United Conservative Party MLAs 1962 births 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta {{Alberta-MLA-stub