Gordon Edwin Dirks (born June 22, 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

educator and politician, who has held political office in the provinces of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Life and career

Dirks was born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

in 1947, and studied at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

, receiving a

BEd A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

degree. Dirks went on to earn a diploma in educational administration and a MEd from the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

and continued his studies at the Canadian Bible College and Theological Seminary in Regina. He taught school, served as public school principal and was registrar for the Canadian Bible College from 1979 to 1982. In 1971, he married Evangeline Joy Reid. Dirks represented Regina Rosemont from 1982 to 1986 in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

as a Progressive Conservative member. Dirks served in the Saskatchewan cabinet as Minister of Social Services and as Minister of Urban Affairs. He was defeated by Robert Lyons when he ran for reelection to the assembly in 1986. From 1986 to 1990, he served as vice-president for the Canadian Bible College, which relocated to Calgary in 2000 as Alliance University College, later becoming

Ambrose University College Ambrose University is a private Christian liberal arts university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Overview The university was formed in 2007, when Alliance University College and Nazarene University College merged, and named in honor of ...

(AUC) as the result of a merger. Dirks was a mayoral candidate in Regina's municipal election in 1988, which was won by Doug Archer. In 1990, Dirks became assistant deputy minister for corporate services with the Alberta Ministry of Family and Social Services, moving to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. From 1993 to 1996, he served as executive administrator for Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton and between 1996 and 2006, Dirks served as president of

Rocky Mountain College Rocky Mountain College (Rocky or RMC) is a private college in Billings, Montana, United States. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. As of 2013, the college had 1,069 enrolled students. RMC is affil ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. In 1999, Dirks was elected as trustee for Wards 1 and 2 on the

Calgary Board of Education Calgary School District No. 19 or the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of ...

. in a by-election, following the dismissal of the Board by then-Education Minister

Lyle Oberg Lyle Knute Oberg (born January 6, 1960) is a Canadian politician, business executive, and former member of the Legislative Assembly in Alberta. He is also a physician. Life and career Oberg was born near Forestburg, Alberta in 1960. A physici ...

. Dirks ran on a platform to streamline administrative costs provide more support for teachers and ensure reasonable local school fees. In 2000, as a staunch supporter of diversity and parental choice in the public education system, Dirks put forward a motion to accept plans for alternative schools within the CBE. The alternative program policy passed in June 2001. In October 2002, Dirks became chair of the CBE, serving four terms until he retired in 2010. In 2006, Dirks rejoined AUC as its vice-president of external relations, a position he held until 2010. Between 2010 and 2014 Dirks was the executive pastor of the Centre Street Church in Calgary. On September 15, 2014, he was appointed to the cabinet of Alberta

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Jim Prentice Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candida ...

as Minister of Education, despite not holding a seat in the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

. He was subsequently named as the party's candidate in a by-election in

Calgary-Elbow Calgary-Elbow is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. The seat is held by NDP MLA Samir Kayande, who won the seat in the 2023 provincial election The riding was created in 1971 from the southeast ...

, the seat formerly held by

Alison Redford Alison Merrilla Redford (born March 7, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. She was the 14th premier of Alberta, having served in this capacity from October 7, 2011, to March 23, 2014. Redford was born in Kitimat, British Columbia ...

. The by-election was scheduled for October 27, 2014, and Dirks won the by-election. As chairman of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, an ex-officio post he inherited along with the political post, Dirks championed the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program, a test of more than 32,000 Grade 8 students from across the country in 2013. Shortly after Dirks' appointment, concerns were raised regarding Dirks's religious views and how they may impact LGBTQ students in Alberta because of his previous role as executive pastor at Calgary's Centre Street Church. The church's statement of theological principles and ministry practices states that the church believes "God is dishonoured by ... sexual activity between persons of the same sex." However, in a written statement to counter concerns, Dirks writes: "I believe everyone has the right to be respected and treated with honour and dignity … I am committed to ensuring every child in Alberta’s schools has a safe, caring and respectful learning environment." Dirks was defeated in the 2015 provincial election by

Greg Clark Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2016 to 2019. He also was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2015 t ...

of the

Alberta Party The Alberta Party, formally the Alberta Party Political Association from 1998 to 2004, is a political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. The party describes itself as centrist and pragmatic in that it is not dogmatically ideological in ...

. The National Post later criticized Prentice for putting Dirks in "one of the reddest of the Red Tory ridings in Calgary".

Electoral record

References

External links

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Saskatchewan Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dirks, Gordon E 1947 births Alberta school board trustees 20th-century Canadian Protestant theologians Ministers of education of Alberta Living people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan Politicians from Calgary Politicians from Regina, Saskatchewan Politicians from Saskatoon Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan MLAs Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan University of Regina alumni University of Saskatchewan alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta