Robert Mercer Johnston (September 15, 1916 - October 16, 1985) was an

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 C ...

political figure. He represented St. Catharines in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1977 as a Progressive Conservative member.

Background

Johnston was born in

Port Dalhousie, Ontario Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Known for its waterfront appeal, it is home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three (19th century) routes of the ...

, the son of Robert Henry and Lillias Johnston. In 1951, he married Doris Gardener. He was the mayor of St. Catharines.

Politics

Johnston was elected mayor of St. Catharines, Ontario in 1964 defeating incumbent Ivan Buchanan. He remained mayor until he was elected to provincial office in 1967. He was elected in the 1967 provincial election in the new riding of St. Catharines. He defeated

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 ...

candidate Jim Bradley by 4,122 votes. He was re-elected in 1971 and

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. ...

. During his time in government he was a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

supporter in the governments of

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Robar ...

and

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 ...

. He retired from politics before the 1977 election.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Robert Mercer 1916 births 1985 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Mayors of St. Catharines