A self-described 'political junkie', David J. Mitchell has been a Liberal MLA for West Vancouver-Garibaldi, representing the area for almost five years. He was born in Montreal and educated at Simon Fraser University with a BA in history and political science in 1975 and an MA in history in 1976. He was appointed Vice-President of Simon Fraser University in 1998. He researched this biography over a seven year period with the co-operation of W.A.C. Bennett.