First
Dutchman to be Elected to Canada’s House of Commons
The eldest of 13 children,
John Oostrom was born in Utrecht, in the central Netherlands, and came
to Canada with his entire family, 1952, settling on a farm near Kemptville
in eastern Ontario. Moving to Toronto, 1955, John took late afternoon and
early evening courses at the University of Toronto, proudly graduating
from there, 1959, in political science. After working for nearly 20 years,
primarily with Philip’s Electronics, “the political bug hit him,” 1979,
and he won the nomination for Toronto’s York South-Weston riding to run
as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the upcoming federal election,
1980. Not only did he lose the election of 1979 but a subsequent election
in 1980. Nevertheless, a true perseverer, he was victorious at the polls
in the 1984 general election when Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative
Party swept into Parliament. In this view, Parliament Hill, John Oostrom,
right, the first Dutch Canadian elected to Canada’s Parliament, and Charles
J. Humber, Publisher, Heirloom Publishing Inc., meet with Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney, 1986, to present him with an illustrious book celebrating
Canada’s rich history and heritage. [Photo, courtesy John Oostrom]
