Rick Johnson is a former Canadian politician and musician. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2009 to 2011 who represented the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. He was elected in a by-election on March 5, 2009, defeating Progressive Conservative leader John Tory. He lost to Laurie Scott in the 2011 election who had previously held the riding.
Rick Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 2009–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Laurie Scott |
| Succeeded by | Laurie Scott |
| Constituency | Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Terri Crawford |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Pontypool, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Musician |
Background
editBefore entering politics, Johnson was a musician, working alongside his wife Terri Crawford both in the Terry Crawford Band of the 1970s and 1980s and later as a children's music duo billed as Terri & Rick.[1]
Politics
editJohnson previously served as a public school trustee for, and chair of, the Trillium Lakelands District School Board[2] and as president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association. In his term on the OPSBA, Johnson introduced breakfast, co-operative education and literacy programs for his district. He has also served on the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce.
Johnson was the Liberal candidate in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock in the 2007 provincial election, losing to Laurie Scott.[3] On January 9, 2009, Scott announced she was resigning her seat in order to provide Conservative Leader John Tory a seat in the legislature.[4] Johnson capitalized on public anger from Scott's move and narrowly defeated Tory in the subsequent by-election.[5]
Johnson served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure, Bob Chiarelli. He previously served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In the 2011 election, Johnson lost again to P.C. candidate Laurie Scott by 6,000 votes in the 2011 provincial election.[6] He ran again in 2014 but lost again to Scott, this time by more than 3,000 votes.[7]
Electoral record
edit| 2011 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Laurie Scott | 22,357 | 45.4 | +4.3 | ||||
| Liberal | Rick Johnson | 16,522 | 33.6 | -10.13 | ||||
| New Democratic | Don Abel | 8,517 | 17.3 | +11.32 | ||||
| Green | Anita Payne | 1,652 | 3.2 | -3.44 | ||||
| Freedom | Charles Olito | 254 | 0.5 | +0.1 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 48,942 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Rick Johnson | 15,482 | 43.73 | +14.22 | |
| Progressive Conservative | John Tory | 14,576 | 41.17 | -8.73 | |
| Green | Mike Schreiner | 2,352 | 6.64 | -0.56 | |
| New Democratic | Lyn Edwards | 2,117 | 5.98 | -5.92 | |
| Independent | Jason Taylor | 320 | 0.90 | ||
| Family Coalition | Jake Pothaar | 258 | 0.73 | -0.07 | |
| Freedom | Bill Denby | 140 | 0.40 | -0.4 | |
| Independent | John Turmel | 92 | 0.26 | ||
| Libertarian | Paolo Fabrizio | 71 | 0.20 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Conservative | Laurie Scott | 24,272 | 49.9 | ||
| Liberal | Rick Johnson | 14,324 | 29.5 | ||
| New Democratic | Joan Corrigan | 5,773 | 11.9 | ||
| Green | Douglas Smith | 3,475 | 7.2 | – | |
| Freedom | Bill Denby | 391 | 0.8 | ||
| Family Coalition | Jake Pothaar | 364 | 0.8 | ||
References
edit- ^ Jim Coyle, "The rock ‘n’ roll road to Queen’s Park". Toronto Star, November 25, 2010.
- ^ Trustees accept Johnson’s resignation
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 5 (xiv). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009.
- ^ Ferguson, Rob; Benzie, Robert (January 10, 2009). "Tory gets shot at a seat after 15-month wait". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario. p. A19. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Ferguson, Rob; Benzie, Robert (March 6, 2009). "Voters defeat John Tory". and "Tory had been under pressure". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario. pp. A1–A8. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "General Elections by District: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.