He served as mayor of Edmonton from 1968-1974 and was a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on behalf of the CCF and the NDP parties.

During World War II, he attempted to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force, but was rejected.

[1] Three years later, he and his wife moved to Edmonton and Dent enrolled at the University of Alberta, from which he earned a Bachelor of Education.

After earning his second degree, he moved to Enchant, Alberta, where he taught for a year before returning to Edmonton to teach.

[1] Dent's first bid for office took place during the 1955 Alberta election, when he ran in Edmonton for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.

Efforts during the 1959 and 1960 elections (in which he placed tenth of seventeen and eighth of fifteen, respectively) were similarly unsuccessful, and Dent took a two-year hiatus from politics, to earn his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Oregon.

In the 1974 election, Dent faced credible challenges from former mayor William Hawrelak (who had returned to municipal politics after vowing never to do so) and alderman Cec Purves.

Although he entered the race as the favourite, he was narrowly defeated by Progressive Conservative Walter van de Walle.