Rick Dykstra
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| Born | April 10, 1966 Grimsby, Ontario<tr><th>Residence</th><td>St. Catharines, Ontario</td></tr><tr><th>Political party</th> <td> Conservative </td></tr><tr><th>Profession(s)</th><td>Businessman, public affairs executive</td></tr><tr><th>Spouse</th><td>Kathy Dykstra</td></tr> |
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Richard "Rick" Dykstra is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2006 federal election, for the Ontario riding of St. Catharines. Dykstra is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
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[edit] Early life and career
Dykstra has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brock University, and a Master's Certificate in Project Management from York University.<ref>St. Catharines overview, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC Canada Votes 2006.</ref> He served for twelve years as president of Dykstra Landscaping, a family business.
His brother, Larry Dykstra, was a Niagara Regional Councillor from 1994 to 1997.<ref>Larry Dykstra was listed as president of Dykstra Landscaping and Greenhouses in a 2002 newspaper article. See "Thousands of flowers from St. Catharines head to U.S. for Sept. 11 services", Canadian Press, 4 September 2002, 13:46 report. He is also active with the Conservative Party.</ref>
[edit] Municipal and provincial career
Dykstra served on the St. Catharines city council from 1991 to 1997, representing St. Patrick's ward. In 1992, he encouraged the provincial government of Bob Rae to lower its gas tax to combat cross-border shopping, which was adversely affecting Ontario businesses.<ref>Richard Mackie, "Rae considers gas tax cut to combat U.S. shopping", Globe and Mail, 4 March 1992, A5.</ref>
He also served as chair of the St. Catharines Library Board during the 1990s. In 1996, he attempted to have a book detailing the crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka banned from the city library. Bernardo and Homolka are former residents of St. Catharines, and Dykstra argued that he was acting to protect the interests of their victims.<ref>"Library won't lend book on Bernardo", Toronto Star, 13 October 1996, A15.</ref> The board voted to keep the book in circulation, but ruled that patrons could not remove it from the library.
Dykstra campaigned for Mayor of St. Catharines in 1997, but lost to Tim Rigby. He later worked for the Ontario provincial government in the Office of the Premier, and was an executive assistant to John Baird, the Minister of Community and Social Services under Mike Harris.<ref>"Program for disabled is strewn with obstacles", Toronto Star, 19 August 2000, LI01.</ref> Dykstra was appointed to the Niagara Parks Commission in 2003,<ref>Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Standing Committee on Government Agencies, 26 February 2003.</ref> and co-chaired Conservative candidate Dean Allison's campaign in Niagara West—Glanbrook for the 2004 federal election.<ref>Carol Phillips, "Niagara West-Glanbrook to the wire", Hamilton Spectator, 29 June 2004, A19.</ref>
[edit] Member of Parliament
Dykstra was elected to the House of Commons in 2006, defeating Liberal incumbent Walt Lastewka by 244 votes. The Conservative Party won a minority government in the election, and Dykstra now sits as a government backbencher.
[edit] Table of offices held
| Preceded by: Walt Lastewka | Member of Parliament for St. Catharines 2006-present | Succeeded by: incumbent |
| Preceded by: Jackie Phelan and one other councillor | St. Catharines City Councillor, Ward Four (with Jackie Phelan) 1991-1997 | Succeeded by: Ronna Katzman and Carol Disher |
[edit] External links
- Official website (includes a blog)
[edit] Electoral record
| 2006 federal election : St. Catharines edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Conservative | Rick Dykstra | 21,669 | 37.47 | $78,093.76 | ||
| Liberal | (x)Walt Lastewka | 21,423 | 37.05 | $76,408.07 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Jeff Burch | 11,848 | 20.49 | $15,482.42 | ||
| Green | Jim Fannon | 2,305 | 3.99 | $991.15 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Bill Bylsma | 481 | 0.83 | $8,736.24 | ||
| Marxist-Leninist | Elaine Couto | 101 | 0.17 | |||
| Total valid votes | 57,827 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 203 | |||||
| Turnout | 58,030 | 68.30 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 84,967 | |||||
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Rigby | 14,193 | 42.32 |
| Rick Dykstra | 11,181 | 33.34 |
| Tom Derreck | 8,162 | 24.34 |
| Total valid votes | 33,536 | 100.00 |
Dykstra was elected to the St. Catharines city council for Ward Four (St. Patrick's Ward) in 1991 and 1994.
All federal election information is taken from Elections Canada. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed total are not available.
The 1997 municipal results are taken from the Hamilton Spectator, 11 November 1997, B9. The final official results were not significantly different.
[edit] Footnotes
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