Dave Van Kesteren

Who is Dave Van Kesteren?

David "Dave" E. Van Kesteren is the Conservative Member of the Parliament of Canada in the riding of Chatham-Kent—Essex.

A child of Dutch parents, Van Kesteren was born two years after his parents emigrated to Canada. Van Kesteren, who is married and has eight children and twenty one grandchildren, owns a Hyundai car dealership, Van Kesteren Auto Sales, which he founded in 1987. He is a charter member of the Chatham Sunrise Rotary Club and past president of the Chatham Christian Business Association.

First elected in the 2006 federal election, Van Kesteren defeated Liberal candidate Jim Comiskey by 5,616 votes. Previously, Van Kesteren had narrowly lost the 2004 election to Liberal incumbent Jerry Pickard by only 407 votes.

Kesteren wants to use a proposed riding alteration to also rename his riding to Chatham-Kent-Leamington, saying “It opens up a door to all kinds of possibilities. For instance you may get a person in Quebec that might make a name change that has separatism innuations so as a rule, parties just don’t give that unanimous consent.”