Rolf Dinsdale

Rolf Dinsdale is the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in the current Brandon-Souris by-election (to be held on November 25, 2013).

Early life
Rolf Dinsdale is the son of Walter Dinsdale, the former MP for Brandon-Souris (Progressive Conservative) for 31 years. Dinsdale is also the grandson of George Dinsdale, former mayor of Brandon and brother of Greg Dinsdale, Progressive Conservative candidate for Brandon East in 1995 and 2003.

Rolf Dinsdale studied at Carleton University, obtaining a degree in communications, and University of Western Ontario, obtaining a degree in political science.

Career
From 2004-2007 he served as a publisher of the Canadian magazine The Walrus, and then worked for Segal Communications, where he served as a senior executive partnered with Facebook, working on their business development in Canada.

Musical career
Dinsdale was a member of the punk rock band Shit From Hell. Another notable member of the group was Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella.

This has created some controversy, as some of the band's songs titles were Horny Single Mom and Jesus Got Wood. The video for the Jesus Got Wood features a writhing woman and the lyrics, “Baby you’re going to get impaled.” However, Dinsdale has stated that this demonstrates his sense of humour and he considers his material pro-Christian:
 * “If I’m guilty of anything, it’s of having a sense of humour and enjoying playing loud rock ’n’ roll with my friends."
 * “Personally, I felt there needed to be a song like this that spoke to people who maybe don’t get exposed to Christian rock … and it is funny in one sense.”

Controversies
Dinsdale has stated that he has received negative comments regarding his family's past: :"People said “your dad is rolling in his grave” 2my face.Yes he is-at what the conservatives are today. #bdnmb #cdnpoli #LPC.” — Rolf Dinsdale, in a Twitter comment."

Dinsdale has also been criticised for stating in his biography that he used to be a senior executive at Facebook, and then changed his biography after it was discovered that he did not work at Facebook, but instead worked for Segal Communications, who was in a partnership with Facebook. Dinsdale later said that "Well, maybe I better change a couple of sentences here, but I don't think I'm being misleading at all"..."I'll be very clear. I never worked directly for Facebook. I was a third-party agent. But this is very typical when companies expand into Canada, in the media business, that they'll hire Canadian companies to represent them here."

Brandon-Souris Campaign
Dinsdale won the nomination process, defeating Frank Godon and Rick Pauls.

Pauls is the mayor of Killarney, Manitoba, and was, until the nomination contest, a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. Pauls contested the Liberal nomination in protest of the Conservative nomnination process, which he felt was unfair.

Godon dropped out and is now the Libertarian Party candidate.

Positions
Dinsdale has said that he believes more investments into housing are needed, and that “Under the Conservative government, fewer social housing units are being funded and there’s low stock of low-cost affordable housing for families."

Dinsdale has also affirmed his belief that the government needs to provide better job opportunities for all Canadians: "There’s been $300 million in cuts to the provincial labour market funding, and that’s money which is currently used to help people find jobs and support their families."

Quotes
“I believe that Justin Trudeau is the only leader – and the Liberal Party of Canada is the only party – who share the values of hard work and community spirit with the people of Brandon-Souris. This is the best place in Canada to live, work and raise a family. But we can only secure our prosperity by working together, respecting our neighbours, and taking advantage of the opportunities of the future today. Stephen Harper just doesn’t get it. The Conservative government has lost its way. It is constantly mired in scandal and is ignoring the needs of middle-class families. I want to help lead a Canada that is open, transparent and ready to face the future with optimism and hard work. I hope you’ll join me in this journey to build a better future for Brandon-Souris.”