Adrian Dix facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Adrian Dix MLA
Minister of Health of British Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office July 18, 2017
Premier	John Horgan
Preceded by	Mary Polak
Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs of British Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office September 27, 2017
Premier	John Horgan
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Kingsway
Incumbent
Assumed office May 17, 2005
Preceded by	Rob Nijjar
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
In office April 17, 2011 – May 4, 2014
Preceded by	Dawn Black
Succeeded by	John Horgan
Leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party
In office April 17, 2011 – May 4, 2014
Preceded by	Dawn Black
Succeeded by	John Horgan
Personal details
Born	(1964-04-20) April 20, 1964 (age 59) Vancouver, British Columbia
Political party	New Democrat
Spouse(s)	Renée Saklikar
Residence(s)	Vancouver, British Columbia
Occupation	Politician

Adrian Dix (born April 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician serving as the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia. In addition to serving as the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia, Dix is also serving as the current Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs in British Columbia and the current Minister of Health in British Columbia. He has also served as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) from 2011 to 2014. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2005 provincial election. Dix's decision in 2013 to be replaced as leader came following the party's disappointing result in the May 2013 provincial election which the BC NDP lost despite a 20-point lead in the polls prior to the election campaign.

Personal life

Adrian Dix was born in Vancouver, to parents Ken and Hilda, immigrants from Ireland and Britain, respectively. His parents ran the Dix Insurance Agency Ltd. on West 41st Avenue in Vancouver until 2011 when his father retired and sold the business. Growing up in Vancouver, Dix was raised as an Anglican and attended both St. George's School and Point Grey Secondary. He then went on to study history and political science at the University of British Columbia. Dix has two siblings and currently lives in Vancouver with his wife Renée Saklikar, a poet and writer. Dix was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes in his 20s.

Career

Fluently bilingual, Dix lived in France as a young man and then worked in Ottawa for NDP MP Ian Waddell.

Chief of Staff

He served as Chief of Staff to BC Premier Glen Clark from 1996 to 1999, a position from which he was dismissed for back-dating a memo to protect Clark from conflict-of-interest charges. Dix has said of this incident, "It was wrong, it was wrong. I'm out there and I've admitted it and people will judge. But I'm not trying to hide my mistake." This memo would later become a focus of a number of opposition BC Liberal Party ads in the 2013 provincial election.

Subsequently, he went on to work as the executive director of Canadian Parents for French in their B.C./Yukon branch. The Vancouver Sun summarized his work in this position as "successfully encouraging more school boards to offer French immersion programs."

Member of the Legislative Assembly

Since 2005, Dix has served as the MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway. He first served as the opposition critic for Children and Families and then served as the Health critic. As MLA, he cites among his achievements "bringing insulin pumps to children with Type 1 diabetes and his work on a successful campaign to stop three schools from being closed in Vancouver-Kingsway."

2011 NDP leadership race

The last candidate to publicly launch his leadership bid, Dix campaigned on a platform of eliminating the HST, rolling back reductions in the corporate tax rate, supporting the redirection of carbon tax revenue to pay for public transit and infrastructure that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, supporting an increase in the minimum wage rate to $10 per hour, creating a provincial child care system, restoring grants to the post-secondary students, reducing interest on student loans, and restoring the corporation capital tax on financial institutions.

His candidacy was endorsed by former interim BC NDP leader Joy MacPhail, amongst others.

Dix led throughout the voting, narrowly defeating rival Mike Farnworth on the third and final ballot with 51.8% of the vote.

Results

2013 British Columbia provincial election

Nearly all polls showed the NDP well ahead of the BC Liberals going into the 2013 election, with at least one showing the NDP ahead by as much as 20 points. Two months prior to the election, The Province newspaper's front page featured a column by pundit Michael Smyth with the banner headline: "If This Man Kicked A Dog He Would Still Win The Election." However, in a result that shocked the party and political pundits, the BC Liberals won a fourth majority government. The BC NDP won 34 seats, one fewer than in 2009.

Dix announced on September 18, 2013 that he would resign as party leader once a new leader (John Horgan) would be chosen in 2014. He also announced his intention to run for re-election as an MLA in the next provincial election.

2017 British Columbia provincial election

After the NDP formed government as a result of the 2017 election, Dix was appointed Minister of Health.

Election results