Richard Fletcher Ruston (August 28, 1919 – May 19, 2002) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1967 to 1985, as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Background

Ruston was born in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, and educated in the area. He was manager of the Essex County Medical Co-op. He and his wife Shirley lived in Essex where they raised five children.

Politics

Ruston was a councillor in Maidstone Township from 1960 to 1962, reeve of the community from 1963 to 1968, and an Essex County councillor. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1967 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Fred Cada by 991 votes. He was re-elected in the 1971 election by roughly the same margin, and won with larger majorities in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He served as Liberal Party

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

for a period. The Progressive Conservative Party governed Ontario during this period, and Ruston was an opposition member for his legislative career. He was primarily a defender of farmer's interests. Ruston announced that he would retire from the legislature in mid-1985, and was not a candidate in that year's provincial election.

Later life

He died in 2002 after suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Fellow MPP and friend

Sean Conway Sean Conway, (born July 24, 1951) is a former provincial politician in Ontario, Canada and a university professor. He served for 28 years as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 2003, and was a high-profile cabin ...

described him as a follower of Ontario's

Clear Grit Clear Grits were reformers in the Canada West district of the Province of United Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their name is said to have been given by David Christie, who said that only those were wanted ...

tradition, and a believer that "the best government ..is the smaller unit closest to the people".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruston, Richard 1919 births 2002 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Essex County, Ontario