 His father Walter Dinsdale was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1951 to 1982, and his grandfather George Dinsdale was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and Mayor of Brandon.Dinsdale is a teacher, and is active with the Manitoba Teachers' Society and the Salvation Army.Dinsdale first campaigned for the Manitoba legislature in 1995 at age 43, and finished second against veteran legislator Leonard Evans.