Frank De Jong
| Frank De Jong | |
|---|---|
Speaking at an economics forum in 2007
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| Leader of the Yukon Green Party | |
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Assumed office 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Kristina Calhoun |
| Leader of the Green Party of Ontario | |
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In office 1993–2009 |
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| Preceded by | First Leader |
| Succeeded by | Mike Schreiner |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 16, 1955 West Luther Township, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Yukon Green Party |
| Other political affiliations |
Green Party of Ontario, Green Party of Canada |
| Children | Faro, Yukon |
| Occupation | Environmentalist, politician |
| Profession | Elementary school-teacher |
Frank de Jong, (born October 16, 1955 in West Luther Township, northeast of Arthur, Ontario) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist and elementary school teacher at Fern Avenue Public School. He joined the Green Party of Ontario in 1987 and became the party's first official leader in 1993 – a position he held until November 14, 2009, when he was replaced by Mike Schreiner. He is the current interim leader of the Yukon Green Party.
In the September 14, 2006, Parkdale—High Park by-election, de Jong received 6.2 percent of the vote. On November 7, 2006, he was nominated as the GPO candidate in the riding of Davenport for the 2007 Ontario general election. In that election, de Jong captured 10.26 percent of the vote, his best showing as a member of the Green Party.
De Jong has also campaigned for federal office as a member of the Green Party of Canada.
Born into a Dutch background, De Jong earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1978, and a Bachelor of Education from University of Ottawa in 1979. After graduating, he worked as an elementary school teacher. He developed an interest in environmental concerns during the mid-1980s, and became involved in campaigns to save Ontario's old growth forests. He was also involved in the anti-nuclear, renewable energy and pro-choice movements. De Jong now resides in Faro, Yukon with his partner Tove Christensen.
The Ontario Green Party did not originally have a formal leadership structure, and was run in a very decentralized manner (nominal leaders were sometimes chosen for elections, but they had no personal authority over party decisions). De Jong and others opposed this approach, and successfully campaigned for a formal leadership contest in 1993. De Jong himself entered this contest, and defeated Jim Harris, who later became leader of the Green Party of Canada. De Jong supported Harris's leadership of the federal party until Harris stepped down in 2006, at which time de Jong supported David Chernushenko's leadership bid. He was challenged for the leadership of the Ontario Green Party by Judy Greenwood-Speers in 2001.
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