# Frank de Jong

Frank de Jong (born October 16, 1955) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, and elementary school teacher. 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 succeeded by Mike Schreiner. From 2017 to 2019 he was the leader of the Yukon Green Party. De Jong has also campaigned for federal office as a member of the Green Party of Canada.

## Education and activism

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 Huntsville, Ontario with his partner Tove Christensen.

## Politics

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 a broad coalition of chapters agreed to a new constitution in 1993. The legwork to facilitate the change was led by Ian Whyte in Ottawa and Jim Harris in Toronto. The actual rewriting of the constitution was led by Ken Toews Policy coordinator who headed up a team to write the new constitution. The changes to the constitution were approved with an 88% majority. There is a direct line between these changes to our constitution and the eventual election of Mike Schreiner to the provincial legislature. A small number of chapters 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.
Like Harris, de Jong is an eco-capitalist. He defines his political philosophy as "socially progressive, fiscally conservative, and environmentally aware". He has long supported conservative economic policies, including a gradual shift from the taxation of incomes to the taxation of natural resources. He has also spoken against extensive government subsidies and funding for crown corporations.
At the October 2005 Green Party of Ontario Annual General Meeting, de Jong narrowly avoided a "leadership review" when 67% of voting members voted against it. The GPO constitution requires that a leadership review be held bi-annually; If more than one-third of voting members had opted for a review, a leadership race would have been held in 2006. At the 2007 AGM, de Jong survived the next scheduled review, this time with approximately 71% support from party members. This followed what was considered the strongest election performance by the GPO to date. Speaking at the Green Party of Ontario AGM in May 2009, de Jong announced that he would not be running for re-election as leader of the 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 was a candidate for Ward 18 in Toronto's 2010 municipal election.
As of December 2014, de Jong was living in Faro, Yukon and was the Green Party of Canada candidate in the Yukon riding in the 2015 federal election, placing a distant fourth.
De Jong was elected leader of the Yukon Green Party in September 2016. He resigned as leader in 2019.

## Election campaigns

* New Democrats score upset in Ontario's Parkdale-High Park by-election
* Ontario Green Party leader to run in byelection
De Jong has campaigned for federal and provincial office several times. His best showing was in the provincial election of 2003, when he ran against sitting Premier Ernie Eves and finished third, ahead of the New Democratic Party candidate. On all other occasions, de Jong has finished well behind candidates of the major parties.
During the 1995 provincial campaign, de Jong cycled on a "leader's tour" from Ottawa to Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor and Niagara Falls before returning northward to Ottawa. Subsequently, he was involved in creating constituency contact lists throughout the province.
His electoral record is as follows:
1988 Canadian federal election: Rosedale :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | David MacDonald | 22,704 | 41.36 | -11.44 |
| | Liberal | Bill Graham | 22,624 | 41.21 | +15.08 |
| | New Democratic | Doug Wilson | 8,266 | 15.06 | -2.77 |
| | Libertarian | Chris Blatchly | 411 | 0.75 | +0.09 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 397 | 0.72 | -1.15 |
| | Rhinoceros | Liane McLarty | 265 | 0.48 | |
| | Independent | Mike Constable | 102 | 0.19 | |
| | Independent | Harry Margel | 91 | 0.17 | |
| | Commonwealth of Canada | Paul Therrien | 33 | 0.06 | -0.27 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 54,893 | 100 |
vte1990 Ontario general election: Ottawa East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Bernard Grandmaître | 16,363 | 62.41 | −11.85 |
| | New Democratic | Lori Lucier | 6,103 | 23.28 | +7.07 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Diana Morin | 2,203 | 8.40 | −1.13 |
| | Family Coalition | Richard Hudon | 826 | 3.15 | |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 723 | 2.76 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 26,218 | 98.78 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 324 | 1.22 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,542 | 55.23 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 48,055 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -9.46 |
1991 Ottawa municipal election
Capital Ward :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Jim Watson | 4,123 |
| Lynn Smyth (X) | 1,817 |
| Michael Lynch | 638 |
| Frank De Jong | 482 |
1993 Canadian federal election: Ottawa–Vanier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Jean-Robert Gauthier | 31,216 | 70.46 | +11.25 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Marie-Christine Lemire | 4,486 | 10.13 | -13.07 |
| | Reform | Sam Dancey | 3,553 | 8.02 | |
| | New Democratic | Willie Dunn | 2,935 | 6.62 | -9.36 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 606 | 1.37 | |
| | National | Raymond Samuels | 497 | 1.12 | |
| | Independent | David Talbot | 429 | 0.97 | |
| | Natural Law | Roger Bouchard | 414 | 0.93 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Serge Lafortune | 138 | 0.31 | |
| | Abolitionist | Steven Edward White | 28 | 0.06 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 44,302 | 100 |
vteCanadian federal by-election, February 13, 1995: Ottawa—Vanier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Mauril Bélanger | 11,918 | 60.06 | −10.41 | $52,001 |
| | Reform | Kevin Gaudet | 4,034 | 20.33 | +12.44 | $36,995 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Françoise Guenette | 1,899 | 9.57 | −0.96 | $30,933 |
| | New Democratic Party | Bob Lawson | 1,259 | 6.34 | −0.16 | $5,764 |
| | Christian Heritage | Gilles Gauthier | 299 | 1.51 | | $1,751 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 218 | 1.10 | −0.24 | $0 |
| | Natural Law | Ian A.G. Campbell | 109 | 0.55 | −0.35 | $131 |
| | Marxist-Leninist | Serge Lafortune | 61 | 0.31 | +0.02 | $136 |
| | Abolitionist | John Turmel | 46 | 0.23 | +0.17 | $0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 19,843 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 201 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,004 | 30.39 | −32.04 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 65,824 |
vte1995 Ontario general election: Nepean :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | Progressive Conservative | John Baird | 17,510 | 49.66 | $40,800.37 |
| | Liberal | Hans Daigeler | 13,575 | 38.50 | $45,021.83 |
| | New Democratic | John Sullivan | 3,274 | 9.29 | $15,380.57 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 390 | 1.11 | $0.00 |
| | Natural Law | Brian E. Jackson | 259 | 0.73 | $0.00 |
| | Freedom | Cathy Frampton | 252 | 0.71 | $2,307.70 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 35,260 | 100.00 |
| Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 363 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,623 | 64.97 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 54,832 |
1997 Canadian federal election: Ottawa Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Mac Harb | 25,987 | 45.19 | -6.71 |
| | New Democratic | Jamey Heath | 13,646 | 23.73 | +1.07 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Peter Annis | 9,391 | 16.33 | +4.45 |
| | Reform | John Perocchio | 6,651 | 11.57 | +2.03 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 855 | 1.49 | +0.30 |
| | Canadian Action | Howard Bertram | 236 | 0.41 | |
| | Natural Law | Neil Paterson | 211 | 0.37 | -0.34 |
| | Independent | Susan Cumby | 190 | 0.33 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Hardial Bains | 150 | 0.26 | +0.07 |
| | Independent | Malek Khouri | 92 | 0.16 | |
| | Independent | Ray Joseph Cormier | 91 | 0.16 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 57,500 | 100 |
vte1999 Ontario general election: Parkdale—High Park :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Gerard Kennedy | 23,022 | 54.92 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Annamarie Castrilli | 12,647 | 30.17 |
| | New Democratic | Irene Atkinson | 4,937 | 11.78 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 500 | 1.19 |
| | Libertarian | Doug Burn | 325 | 0.78 |
| | Family Coalition | Stan Grzywna | 289 | 0.69 |
| | Independent | Jorge Van Schouwen | 99 | 0.24 |
| | Natural Law | Lynne Hea | 99 | 0.24 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,918 | 100 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2003 Ontario general election: Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Progressive Conservative | Ernie Eves | 29,222 | 56.64 | -8.12 |
| Liberal | Dan Yake | 14,859 | 28.8 | -0.03 |
| Green | Frank De Jong | 3,161 | 6.13 | 3.68 |
| New Democratic | Mitchel Healey | 3,148 | 6.1 | +2.13 |
| Family Coalition | Dave Davies | 1,202 | 2.33 |
2005 by-election: Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Progressive Conservative | John Tory | 15,610 | 56.3 | - |
| Liberal | Bob Duncanson | 4,625 | 16.7 | - |
| New Democratic | Lynda McDougall | 3,881 | 14.0 |
| Green | Frank de Jong | 2,767 | 10.0 |
| Family Coalition | Paul Micelli | 479 | 1.7 | - |
| Independent | William Cook | 163 | 0.6 | - |
| Libertarian | Philip Bender | 135 | 0.5 | - |
| Independent | John Turmel | 85 | 0.3 | - |
Ontario provincial by-election, September 14, 2006: Parkdale—High Park :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Cheri DiNovo | 11,677 | 41.04 | +25.27 |
| | Liberal | Sylvia Watson | 9,387 | 32.99 | -24.84 |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Hutcheon | 4,921 | 17.29 | +1.11 |
| | Green | Frank De Jong | 1,753 | 6.16 | -0.77 |
| | Family Coalition | Stan Grzywna | 367 | 1.29 | -0.2 |
| | Libertarian | Jim McIntosh | 162 | 0.57 | |
| | Freedom | Silvio Ursomarzo | 111 | 0.39 | -0.02 |
| | Independent | John Turmel | 78 | 0.27 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 28,456 | 100 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
vteOntario provincial by-election, January 12, 2007 by-election: Burlington :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Joyce Savoline | 11,143 | 48.98 | +2.83 |
| | Liberal | Joan Lougheed | 9,365 | 41.17 | -1.01 |
| | New Democratic | Cory Judson | 1,310 | 5.76 | -2.46 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 734 | 3.23 | +0.90 |
| | Freedom | Barry Spruce | 106 | 0.47 | |
| | Independent | John Turmel | 90 | 0.40 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 22,748 | 100 |
2007 Ontario general election: Davenport :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Tony Ruprecht | 12,467 | 41.82 | -13.70 |
| | New Democratic | Peter Ferreira | 10,880 | 36.49 | +7.12 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 3,047 | 10.22 | * |
| | Progressive Conservative | Antonio Garcia | 2,805 | 9.41 | +2.11 |
| | Communist | Dave McKee | 191 | 0.64 | |
| | Family Coalition | Gustavo Valdez | 157 | 0.53 | |
| | Libertarian | Nunzio Venuto | 152 | 0.51 | * |
| | Independent | Annette Kouri | 114 | 0.38 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 29,813 | 100 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -10.41 | |
2010 Toronto municipal election, Ward 18: Davenport
Ward 18 :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Ana Bailão | 6,277 | 43.75% |
| Kevin Beaulieu | 4,911 | 34.23% |
| Frank de Jong | 869 | 6.06% |
| Hema Vyas | 776 | 5.41% |
| Joe MacDonald | 669 | 4.66% |
| Kirk Russell | 326 | 2.27% |
| Nha Le | 154 | 1.07% |
| Ken Wood | 106 | 0.74% |
| Mohammad Muhit | 94 | 0.66% |
| Joanna Teliatnik | 70 | 0.49% |
| Doug Carroll | 52 | 0.36% |
| Abdirazak Elmi | 42 | 0.29% |
| Total | 14,346 | 100% |
2011 Ontario general election: Davenport :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Jonah Schein | 14,367 | 45.93 | +9.44 |
| | Liberal | Cristina Martins | 12,953 | 41.41 | -0.41 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Kirk Russell | 2,480 | 7.93 | -1.48 |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 855 | 2.73 | -7.49 |
| | Independent | Mark Jagg | 250 | 0.80 | |
| | Communist | Miguel Figueroa | 163 | 0.52 | -0.12 |
| | Freedom | Franz Cauchi | 96 | 0.31 | |
| | Human Rights | Alix Thompson | 82 | 0.26 | |
| | The Only Party | Kiros Ghiwot | 33 | 0.11 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 31,279 | 100 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 178 | 0.57 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,457 | 45.59 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 68,998 |
| | New Democratic gain from Liberal | New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +4.93 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
vte2015 Canadian federal election: Yukon :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Larry Bagnell | 10,887 | 53.65 | +20.70 | – |
| | Conservative | Ryan Leef | 4,928 | 24.29 | -9.48 | – |
| | New Democratic | Melissa Atkinson | 3,943 | 19.43 | +5.06 | – |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 533 | 2.63 | -16.28 | – |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 20,291 | 100.0 | | $210,779.30 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 94 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,385 | – | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 26,283 |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | Swing | +10.92 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2016 Yukon general election: Pelly-Nisutlin :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Yukon Party | Stacey Hassard | 280 | 42.3% | -7.1% |
| | NDP | Ken Hodgins | 207 | 31.2% | -0.8% |
| | Liberal | Carl Sidney | 152 | 23.0% | +9.9% |
| | Green | Frank de Jong | 22 | 3.3% | +3.3% |
| Total | Total | Total | 661 | 100% | – |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Cohen, Sidney (August 31, 2016). "Yukon Greens run record number of candidates". Whitehorse, Yukon: Whitehorse Daily Star. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
* ↑ "Ontario Greens | The Ontario you want. The leadership we need". Green Party of Ontario. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
* ↑ "Green leader gets 71 per cent support". Toronto Star, November 26, 2007.
* ↑ "Frank de Jong to step down as Green party leader". Toronto Star, May 23, 2009.
* ↑ Davenport Green Party nominates de Jong, Green Party of Ontario news release, November 8, 2006.
* ↑ Reynolds, Christopher (December 18, 2014). "Whitehorse Daily Star: Local man pursues NDP nomination". Whitehorsestar.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
* ↑ "Green Party's Frank de Jong asks Yukoners to follow their 'green conscience' | CBC News".
* ↑ Forrest, Maura (September 2, 2016). "De Jong takes over Green Party leadership as candidates step forward". Yukon News. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
* ↑ Rudyk, Mike (November 2, 2016). "Yukon's Greens hope to boost the youth vote". www.cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
* ↑ Chief Returning Officer of Ontario. "Parkdale–High Park General Election of June 3, 1999". Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate. Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
* ↑ Chief Returning Officer. "Parkdale–High Park By-election 2006". Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for each Candidate. Toronto: Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
* ↑ "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Davenport" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
* ↑ "Yukon - October 19, 2015 Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
* ↑ Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits