# Joe Preston (politician)

Joseph Preston (born June 14, 1955) is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the mayor of St. Thomas. He was previously a member of Parliament, representing Elgin—Middlesex—London riding from 2004 to 2015 as a member of a Conservative Party of Canada.
He defeated Liberal incumbent Gar Knutson in the 2004 federal election. He was re-elected in the 2006, 2008 and 2011 federal elections. He did not run again in 2015 and retired from parliament.
On July 10, 2018, Preston announced that he was running for mayor of St. Thomas in the 2018 Ontario municipal election, which he won.
Prior to being an member of Parliament, he was an entrepreneur in St. Thomas, and was active in local politics.

## Electoral record

2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Joe Preston | 29,147 | 57.55 | +9.17 | – |
| | New Democratic | Fred Sinclair | 12,439 | 24.56 | +5.32 | – |
| | Liberal | Graham Warwick | 6,812 | 13.45 | -10.07 | – |
| | Green | John Fisher | 1,529 | 3.02 | -3.80 | – |
| | Christian Heritage | Carl Hiemstra | 582 | 1.15 | -0.15 | – |
| | Canadian Action | Will Arlow | 140 | 0.28 | +0.08 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 50,649 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 170 | 0.33 | -0.07 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,819 | 62.90 | +3.24 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 80,796 | – | – |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Joe Preston | 22,970 | 48.38 | +2.8 | $77,732 |
| | Liberal | Suzanne van Bommel | 11,169 | 23.52 | -2.8 | $79,198 |
| | New Democratic | Ryan Dolby | 9,135 | 19.24 | 0.0 | $12,502 |
| | Green | Noel Burgon | 3,241 | 6.82 | +1.2 | |
| | Christian Heritage | Carl Hiemstra | 619 | 1.30 | -0.7 | $9,598 |
| | Independent | Michael van Holst | 243 | 0.51 | – | $1,875 |
| | Canadian Action | Will Arlow | 96 | 0.20 | 0.0 | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 47,473 | 100.0 | $85,544 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 190 | 0.40 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,663 | 59.66 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Joe Preston | 23,416 | 45.6 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal | Crispin Colvin | 13,507 | 26.3 | -7.9 |
| | New Democratic | Tim McCallum | 9,873 | 19.2 | +4.6 |
| | Green | Jonathan Martyn | 2,878 | 5.6 | +1.2 |
| | Christian Heritage | Ken DeVries | 1,049 | 2.0 | -0.7 |
| | Progressive Canadian | Phill Borm | 504 | 1.0 | |
| | Canadian Action | Will Arlow | 105 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 51,332 | 100.0 |
2004 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Joe Preston | 20,333 | 43.8 | -8.7 |
| | Liberal | Gar Knutson | 15,860 | 34.2 | -6.2 |
| | New Democratic | Tim McCallum | 6,763 | 14.6 | +9.4 |
| | Green | Julie-Ann Stodolny | 2,033 | 4.4 | +3.4 |
| | Christian Heritage | Ken DeVries | 1,246 | 2.7 | +1.8 |
| | Canadian Action | Will Arlow | 146 | 0.3 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 46,381 | 100.0 |