John Frederick "Fred" Johnston (July 16, 1876 – May 9, 1948) was a Saskatchewan politician. Johnston was born to a wealthy family in Bogarttown, Ontario that owned lumber and flour mills in

Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...

.John Frederick Johnston 1876-1948
''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan'' He moved to

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

in 1905 and ultimately settled on a farm near

Bladworth, Saskatchewan Bladworth ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of McCraney No. 282 and Census Division No. 11. The village is located south of the City of Saskatoon on Highway 11. History ...

. In addition to his farm, he owned a lumberyard and hardware store in town and developed a string of general stores in the region. He was elected by

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to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the 1917 wartime election as a Liberal-Unionist representing Last Mountain. 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 ...

had split over the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

and Johnston was one of the Liberals who broke with Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

in order to support the pro-

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

Union Government The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

formed by Conservative Prime Minister Sir

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

. During the parliament, Johnston broke with both the government and the Liberals to support the new agrarian based

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

formed by

Thomas Crerar Thomas Alexander Crerar, (June 17, 1876 – April 11, 1975) was a western Canadian politician and a leader of the short-lived Progressive Party of Canada. He was born in Molesworth, Ontario, and moved to Manitoba at a young age. Early care ...

. He won the Progressive Party nomination in his riding and was re-elected in the 1921 federal election as a Progressive MP and became the party's chief

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 ...

in the

. Johnston supported co-operation between the Progressives and the Liberals. He was re-elected as a Progressive MP, this time in the riding of Long Lake in the 1925 federal election. The Liberals lost seats in the election but stayed in power leading 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 ...

. Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

convinced Johnston to

cross the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...

and join the Liberals in early 1926 in an attempt to buttress his government's support. He was re-elected as a Liberal in the 1926 federal election and, in December 1926, became Deputy

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament b ...

. Johnston was defeated in the 1930 federal election by his

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

opponent and returned to the farm. He was again elected to parliament in the 1935 federal election, this time in the riding of

Lake Centre Lake Centre was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1953. This riding was created in 1933 from parts of the ridings of Last Mountain, Long Lake and Regina. Fr ...

but was defeated in the 1940 federal election by

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

of the Tories. Johnston was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

by Mackenzie King in 1943 and sat in the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

until his death in 1948.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan biography
*
Canada's Historic Places: J. Fred Johnston House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, John Frederick 1876 births 1948 deaths Canadian senators from Saskatchewan Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Liberal-Unionist MPs in Canada Progressive Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Canadian farmers