Rick Johnson (Canadian politician) explained

Rick Johnson (Canadian politician) should not be confused with Rick Johnson (Michigan politician).

Rick Johnson
Office:Ontario MPP
Term Start:2009
Term End:2011
Predecessor:Laurie Scott
Successor:Laurie Scott
Constituency:Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Residence:Pontypool, Ontario, Canada
Party:Liberal
Spouse:Terri Crawford
Children:2
Occupation:Musician

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.

Background

Before 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

Johnson 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]

Notes and References

  1. Jim Coyle, "The rock ‘n’ roll road to Queen’s Park". Toronto Star, November 25, 2010.
  2. http://www.tldsb.on.ca/documents/Goodbye_Rick_000.pdf Trustees accept Johnson’s resignation
  3. Web site: Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate . Elections Ontario . October 10, 2007 . 5 (xiv) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091007160233/http://www.elections.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/AB409CCD-84F3-46FA-B3BD-39AB659EFC2D/0/SummaryofValidBallotsCastforEachCandidate.pdf . October 7, 2009 .
  4. News: Ferguson . Rob . Benzie . Robert . January 10, 2009 . Tory gets shot at a seat after 15-month wait . . Toronto, Ontario . A19 . March 17, 2024 . newspapers.com.
  5. News: Ferguson . Rob . Benzie . Robert . March 6, 2009 . Voters defeat John Tory . and News: Tory had been under pressure . . Toronto, Ontario . A1-A8 . March 17, 2024 . newspapers.com.
  6. Web site: Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate . Elections Ontario . October 6, 2011 . 2014-03-02 . 6 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130330163815/http://elections.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/7849B894-4C4F-490E-9E8C-271BCF0C0D4D/5712/SummaryofvalidvotescastforeacndGE2011.pdf . March 30, 2013 .
  7. Web site: General Elections by District: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock . Elections Ontario . June 12, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140702074643/http://wemakevotingeasy.ca/en/general-election-district-results.aspx?d=029 . July 2, 2014 .