Michael de Jong (born 1963 or 1964) is a politician in the Canadian province of
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. He was a member of the
Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Matsqui from 1994 to 2001,
Abbotsford-Mount Lehman from 2001 to 2009, and
Abbotsford West from 2009 until 2024. A caucus member of
BC United (formerly known as the
British Columbia Liberal Party
BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...
), he served in several
cabinet posts under premiers
Gordon Campbell and
Christy Clark
Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...
, and ran for party leadership in 2011 and 2018.
Early life
De Jong was born to Dutch parents who immigrated to Canada after Canadian soldiers liberated the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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.
He graduated from
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree, then attended the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
Faculty of Law
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
, earning his law degree in 1988.
He subsequently returned to Matsqui to set up a law practice, and was elected as trustee for
School District 34 Abbotsford at age 26, becoming one of Canada's youngest school board members.
Political career
Provincial politics
Early career and opposition
In 1994, de Jong was recruited by
Gordon Campbell of the
British Columbia Liberal Party
BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...
to compete against new
Social Credit Party (Socred) leader
Grace McCarthy in a by-election in Matsqui. The Socreds had represented the riding for 42 years until de Jong defeated McCarthy by a margin of 42 votes.
McCarthy, who had been attempting to rebuild the Socreds, resigned as party leader shortly after her by-election loss, and the party failed to elect any members in the subsequent provincial election in
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
.
De Jong was a member of the
Official Opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
between 1994 and 2001, serving as opposition critic for aboriginal affairs at one point. He was regarded as very vocal on the opposition benches; he was ejected from the legislative assembly for calling then-
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Colin Gabelmann a "liar" and was later sued for libel by federal cabinet minister
Herb Dhaliwal
Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, Queen's Privy Council for Canada, PC (born 12 December 1952) is a Canadians, Canadian politician and businessman.
He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1993 Canadian federal election, 19 ...
.
Campbell ministry
In the
2001 election, de Jong ran in the new riding of
Abbotsford-Mount Lehman. After his party was victorious in the election, de Jong was appointed Minister of Forests in the new
Campbell ministry.
In 2004, de Jong removed 70,000 hectares of land from Tree Farm Licence 44 with no compensation from the owner and against the recommendations of ministry staff; this effectively privatized what had been
Crown Land
Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
without compensation to the province. The changes made allowed the wood to be exported as raw logs rather than lumber, and also allowed for eventual development of the land. 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 had since filed legal action. He has also been linked to other such privatizations of Crown forest land. After the
2005 election, de Jong became Minister of Labour and Citizens' Services.
The following year, in a small cabinet shuffle, he became Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation.
In the
2009 election, de Jong ran in the newly created riding of
Abbotsford West. Following the election, in which the BC Liberals remained in office, de Jong was named Attorney General.
On two occasions in 2010, de Jong stepped in as
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General while
Kash Heed was under investigation for campaign violations.
That same year, de Jong faced controversy when 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.
On December 1, 2010, de Jong announced that he would seek the leadership of the BC Liberal Party to replace the outgoing Gordon Campbell, and resigned his cabinet post. During his campaign, he advocated for the provincial voting age to be lowered to 16. He placed fourth in the
2011 leadership election, which was won by
Christy Clark
Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...
.
Clark ministry
In
Clark's initial cabinet, de Jong was named
Minister of Health.
He was appointed Minister of Finance on September 5, 2012, and in addition briefly served as Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism between March and June 2013.
He retained the finance portfolio following his re-election in
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
. From 2013 to 2017, de Jong tabled five consecutive balanced budgets.
De Jong was re-elected in
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
and remained as Minister of Finance. He finished his term as minister that July,
following the Liberal
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
's defeat in a confidence vote on June 29.
Return to opposition
With Christy Clark resigning as leader, de Jong announced on September 26, 2017 his intention to run in the
2018 BC Liberal leadership election.
His campaign placed an emphasis on education, including proposals to extend full-day kindergarten to four-year-olds, and to provide $500 each year to a child's
registered education savings plan. On January 18, 2018, de Jong and rival candidate
Andrew Wilkinson announced they had struck a deal to support each other as their second-ballot choices. De Jong placed fifth in a field of six, but his alliance with Wilkinson was critical to the latter's victory.
He was re-elected in
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, and was named shadow minister for Attorney General.
He announced in February 2024 that he would not seek another term as MLA in that year's
provincial election, and stated that he was considering running for the
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
in
the next federal election. His provincial seat was held by the Conservatives by
Korky Neufeld.
Federal politics
On April 17, 2024, de Jong announced he was seeking the Conservative nomination for
Abbotsford—South Langley. On March 4, 2025, de Jong revealed on social media that despite the local Electoral District Candidate Selection Committee unanimously endorsing his candidacy, the party denied his application to seek the nomination by telling him that he was "not qualified".
De Jong later announced that he was running as an independent by stating his belief that candidates should not be selected by a party operative.
The
''Globe and Mail'' later reported that the Conservative candidate, 25 year-old blueberry farmer
Sukhman Singh Gill, was selected by
Jenni Byrne. On April 15, 2025,
Ed Fast, the outgoing Conservative MP for
Abbotsford, the predecessor district of Abbotsford—South Langley, endorsed de Jong. Gill was elected in the election.
Electoral record
Federal elections
Provincial elections
Notes
References
External links
Mike de Jong MLAMike de Jong
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Jong, Mike
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Attorneys general of British Columbia
BC United MLAs
British Columbia school board members
Canadian King's Counsel
Canadian people of Dutch descent
Carleton University alumni
Ministers of finance of British Columbia
Ministers of health of British Columbia
Lawyers in British Columbia
Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia
University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni
20th-century Canadian lawyers
20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Solicitors general of Canadian provinces
21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Independent candidates in the 2025 Canadian federal election