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