Michael de Jong was named Minister of Health on March 14, 2011. He was re-elected in 2009 as the MLA for the newly named constituency of Abbotsford West, an area he has represented since first being elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in a 1994 by-election. The five-term MLA previously served as Attorney General, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Minister of Labour and Citizens’ Services, and Minister of Forests. In addition he also served as Government House Leader. Before his election as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1994, Mike served two terms as an elected School Trustee for Abbotsford School District 34, and was a practicing lawyer with his own Abbotsford firm. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University in Ottawa and a law degree from the University of Alberta. Michael has also been involved with the Abbotsford-Matsqui Arts Council, the Matsqui Youth Commission and holds the rank of Captain in the Canadian Armed Forces Air Force Reserve. Still an avid hockey player, in his teen years, Michael was a member of the Abbotsford Pilots Junior B hockey team. He attended Mouat Secondary School and still lives on the Matsqui Prairie farm where he grew up.
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