All seven incumbents re-elected

General election attracts numerous Dutch Canadian candidates

OTTAWA – All sitting Members of Parliament of Dutch extraction have been returned to office in their respective electoral districts in the recent general elections in Canada. The Dutch Canadians represent three of the four parties that hold seats in the House of Commons, five of them are Conservatives, one is a Liberal and one a New Democrat. The largest number of Dutch Canadians ran for the Christian Heritage Party, which elected none.

Two Dutch Canadians were re-elected in Nova Scotia, the New Democrat Peter Stoffer in Sackville-Eastern Shore, which he has represented since 1997. Mark Eyking, whose family plays a significant role in Nova Scotia agriculture, was re-elected in Sydney-Victoria, which the Liberal has represented since 2000. Both Nova Scotians won their seats with huge majorities.

In Ontario, the Chatham-Kent-Essex district re-elected Conservative Dave Van Kesteren with a solid margin. The same can be reported of Conservative Rick Dykstra in St. Catharines, and Michael Chong, a Conservative, the son of a Chinese-born physician and a Dutch-born mother, in Wellington-Halton Hills. Both Chong and Peter Van Loan, York-Simcoe, won a majority of the votes cast in their districts.

The Winnipeg South Conservative Rod Bruinooge, who is partially Dutch and an Aboriginal Canadian of Métis descent, also won by a significant margin.

Largest number

The Christian Heritage Party has again fielded the minimum number of candidates, to hold onto its national party status. The party again attracted the largest number of Dutch Canadian candidates and has participated in each general election since 1988, mostly in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. While the party has a fairly broad platform that attempts to speak to a range of issues, its pro-life and traditional pro-family position generally attract the most attention. It opposes abortion and any moves that they feel will undermine the institution of marriage.

Three who failed to get elected ran for the Liberal Party, three for the New Democratic Party, also three for the Green Party, one each for the Conservative Party and the Marijuana Party, and one run as an independent.