John Richard Simonett (September 2, 1911 – January 17, 1983) 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 was a Progressive Conservative member of 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 1959 to 1971 who represented the riding

Frontenac—Addington Frontenac—Addington was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Frontenac and Lennox and Addington ...

Background

Simonett was born in Frontenac County, Ontario to William Harry Simonett and Caroline Barr. He ran an automobile dealership in

Sharbot Lake Sharbot Lake is a suburban community and unincorporated area in the municipality of Central Frontenac, Frontenac County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Named after the Sharbot family, who were local residents, it appeared in Lovell's Gazetteer in 18 ...

. He died January 17, 1983.

Politics

Simonett served for several years on the council of Oro Township and was reeve for six years. In the 1959 provincial election, Simonett ran as the PC candidate in the eastern Ontario riding of

. He defeated Liberal Armand Quintal by 2,238 votes. He was re-elected in the general elections in 1963 and 1967. On October 25, 1962, he was appointed as

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 ...

. After the 1963 election, Simonett was appointed as the Minister of Energy Resources. He continued in that position, after the 1967 election, until October 5, 1969, at which time he was appointed as the

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

. In 1971, he supported

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

in his bid to become leader of the party. On March 11, 1971, he was appointed to a newly created post of vice chairman of the

Ontario Northland Transportation Commission The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in northern Ontario. It reports to ...

, a move that was criticized as a reward for supporting Davis in the leadership campaign. Simonett announced his retirement from politics in 1971.

Cabinet positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simonett, John Richard 1983 deaths 1911 births 20th-century Canadian politicians Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs