Rita Margaret Johnston (born April 22, 1935; née Leichert) is a Canadian politician in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991. Early life Wilhelmus Ni ...

in 1991 to become the 29th

premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...

, serving for seven months. The daughter of John Leichert and Annie Chyzzy, she was educated in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

. In 1951, she married George Johnston. Much of her early life was spent running a

trailer park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and ea ...

in the city of

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Su ...

Political career

Johnston first entered politics as a city councillor in Surrey. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, she was elected as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial ...

as part of the Social Credit Party, representing the provincial riding of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. She was reelected in 1986 in the newly-created riding of

Surrey-Newton Surrey-Newton is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. The riding was first created out of the two-member Surrey district in 1986, which had been in existence since 1966. Surrey had always ...

and became a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

minister under Premier

, serving in various portfolios. She had previously served under Vander Zalm when she was a councilor and he was the mayor of Surrey. Vander Zalm appointed Johnston deputy premier in 1990. When Vander Zalm resigned, on April 2, 1991, caucus selected her as interim leader over

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Russell Fraser Russell Gordon Fraser (born March 1, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1983 to 1991, as a Social Credit member for the constituency of Vancouver South. He served as Attorney Genera ...

by a vote of 21–17. As such, she was appointed premier on April 2, 1991, making her Canada's first female first minister. At a Social Credit party convention in July 1991, she was formally elected leader of the Socreds in an upset, narrowl defeating the frontrunner

Grace McCarthy Grace Mary McCarthy, OC, OBC, LLD, DTech, FRAIC (Hon.) (née Winterbottom; October 14, 1927 – May 24, 2017) was a Canadian politician and florist in British Columbia. A high-ranking member of the Social Credit Party of British Columbia, she ...

. However, she had little time to implement any new programs since she faced a statutory general election in October. The party was also bitterly divided because of the leadership contest, and it had little time to repair the breach before the writs were dropped. Johnston's long association with the scandal-plagued Vander Zalm significantly hampered her prospects of winning election in her own right, and she was soundly defeated by the

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: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

, led by

Mike Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt, OC (born January 6, 1943) served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of Vancouver, BC's largest city, from 1980 to 1986. Early life and education Harcourt was ...

. Moreover, many moderate Socreds switched their support to the previously moribund BC Liberals. The Socreds lost more than half of their popular vote from

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

and were cut down to seven seats, falling to third place in the Legislative Assembly behind the NDP and Liberals. Johnston herself lost her own seat to the NDP's Penny Priddy by over 10 points, and all but seven members of her cabinet were defeated. Harcourt later said that he preferred facing Johnston rather than McCarthy, believing McCarthy would have been a tougher opponent in a general election. Johnston resigned as leader of the Social Credit Party on January 11, 1992 and was replaced by McCarthy. After her defeat, Johnston retired from politics and has had a low public profile. She returned to public life in 2009 as an advisor for the

British Columbia Conservative Party The Conservative Party of British Columbia is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. In the early half of the 20th century, the Conservatives competed with the British Columbia Liberal Party for power in the province. Since ...

References

biography at collections canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Rita 1935 births British Columbia Social Credit Party leaders British Columbia Social Credit Party MLAs Canadian female first ministers Deputy premiers of British Columbia Living people Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from Melville, Saskatchewan People from Surrey, British Columbia Premiers of British Columbia Surrey, British Columbia city councillors Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in British Columbia