Herb Dickieson (born March 8, 1954) is a retired

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and a former educator and politician in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Canada. Dickieson was the first and, to date, only member of the

New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island The New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island (NDP PEI) is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and a branch of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). CCF The NDP's predecessor, the Co-opera ...

to have sat in the Legislative Assembly. Dickieson was raised in

New Glasgow New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

on a small family farm. He graduated from the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' ...

with his B.Sc. in 1979 and received a B.Ed. in 1982. Dickieson taught high school in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

for one year before entering medical school at Dalhousie University, from which he graduated with his medical degree in 1987. Dickieson interned in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and in Prince Edward Island and established a family medicine practise in

O'Leary History Ancient The Uí Laoghaire clan, today associated with the Uibh Laoghaire parish in County Cork, is considered by scholars to have originated in the early Middle Ages on the south-west coast, in the area of Ros Ó gCairbre (Rosscarbery), ...

. Dickieson was elected leader of the

Island New Democrats The New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island (NDP PEI) is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and a branch of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). CCF The NDP's predecessor, the Co-o ...

in March 1995, and led the party in the 1996 and 2000 provincial elections, seeking to be a Member of the Legislature for District 25,

West Point-Bloomfield O'Leary-Inverness is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was formerly known as West Point-Bloomfield from 1996 to 2007. It was created in 1996 from parts of 1st Prince and 2nd Prince ...

. He was successful in the 1996 election, but was defeated in the 2000 election. Dickieson led the party through the 1990s, but resigned two years after his personal electoral defeat. Dickieson was a popular politician during his term, even among non-New Democrats, as a voice for change. He was encouraged by many members to run for the federal New Democratic Party in the 2004 federal election and again provincially, he had refused until he announced on September 12, 2014 that he would seek the NDP nomination for Egmont for the 2015 federal election. Dickieson was nominated as the candidate in October 2014. On October 19, 2015, Dickieson was defeated in the election, finishing third behind the winner, Liberal Bobby Morrissey and Conservative incumbent

Gail Shea Gail A. Shea (born April 6, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Egmont from 2008 to 2015. She was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 2000 to 2007, representing the ...

. Dickieson was involved in local and provincial issues, including concern over the closing of rural post offices, the fate of farmers, and the quality of education, particularly among children. He has served on boards for the promotion of a community youth centre, Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and as Chief of Medical Staff at the Community Hospital in O'Leary. He is also a Past President of the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island. He resides with his wife Kathleen and family in Howlan.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickieson, Herb 1954 births Living people University of Prince Edward Island alumni Dalhousie University alumni People from Queens County, Prince Edward Island New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island MLAs New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island leaders New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Prince Edward Island candidates for Member of Parliament