John Franklin "Frank" Johnston (September 3, 1929 – February 7, 2017) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

from 1969 to 1988, and as a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the Progressive Conservative government of

Sterling Lyon Sterling Rufus Lyon (January 30, 1927 – December 16, 2010) was a Canadian lawyer, cabinet minister, and the 17th premier of Manitoba from 1977 to 1981. His government introduced several fiscally-conservative measures, and was sometimes seen a ...

. Johnston began his political career at the municipal level, serving as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in the City of St. James (now part of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) from 1964 to 1966, and in the successor city of St. James-Assiniboia from 1968 to 1972. He was chosen as the city's deputy

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in 1968, and also chaired the urban renewal committee.''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 January 1969, p. 12. He was also active in

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and was a member of the Northwest Commercial Travellers Association. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1969, defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Robert Chipman by 530 votes in the Winnipeg riding of Sturgeon Creek. This election was the first in Manitoba's history won by the

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

, and Johnston sat in the opposition benches. In the 1973 election, he was re-elected by an increased margin. Johnston was re-elected again in the 1977 election, in which the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government. From October 24, 1977 to October 20, 1978, he was a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

responsible for the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation. On October 20, 1978, he was promoted to Minister of Economic Development; on November 15, 1981, this portfolio was changed to Economic Development and Tourism. The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1981 election, and Johnston was re-elected with a reduced plurality. He was re-elected in the 1986 election, but ironically lost to Liberal challenger

Iva Yeo Iva Yeo (born June 5, 1939 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1990, representing the Winnipeg riding of Sturgeon Creek for the Manitoba Liberal Party ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, just as the Progressive Conservatives formed a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

under

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is Canadian politician from Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999. Political care ...

. He never sought a return to political life. Johnston was an aggressively partisan MLA, and frequently referred to New Democrats as

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

in legislative debates. His son,

Scott Johnston Scott Johnston is a Canadian provincial politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2016 Manitoba general election. He represents the electoral district of Assiniboia as a member of the Progressive Conservative Part ...

, was elected as an MLA in the

2016 Manitoba general election The 2016 Manitoba general election was held on April 19, 2016 to elect members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Canada. The New Democratic Party of Manitoba, led by Greg Selinger, were defeated by the Progressive Conservative Party of Mani ...

. Johnston's passing was announced publicly February 8, 2017 by Premier

Brian Pallister Brian William Pallister (born July 6, 1954) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Manitoba from 2016 until 2021. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 2012 to 2021. He was previously a cab ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Frank 1929 births 2017 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs