# John Carmichael (Canadian politician)

John Carmichael (born February 14, 1952) is a former Canadian politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015 who represented the Toronto riding of Don Valley West.

## Background

Carmichael was born in Toronto. He owned and operated City Buick Pontiac Cadillac GMC Ltd. He and his wife Kerry raised three children. His daughter Christin Carmichael Greb was a Toronto City Councillor, serving till October 2018. She was defeated by former MPP Mike Colle.

## Politics

Carmichael ran as the Conservative party candidate in the riding of Don Valley West in 2006 and 2008 federal elections, losing both times to Liberals John Godfrey and Rob Oliphant. In the 2011 election, he defeated incumbent Oliphant by 611 votes. He served as a backbench member of the Stephen Harper government.
In 2011, he sponsored a private member's bill called National Flag of Canada Act that provided protections for anyone who wants to fly the flag of Canada. The new law makes it illegal for anyone to prevent someone else from flying the flag. Penalties range from fines to up to two years in jail. Critics called the bill an excuse to enshrine patriotism in law.
In 2015, he was defeated by Oliphant in a rematch of the 2011 election.

### Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Rob Oliphant | 27,472 | 53.78 | +12.29 | – |
| | Conservative | John Carmichael | 19,206 | 37.6 | -5.33 | – |
| | New Democratic | Syeda Riaz | 3,076 | 6.02 | -4.73 | – |
| | Green | Natalie Hunt | 848 | 1.66 | -1.91 | – |
| | Libertarian | John Kittredge | 325 | 0.64 | – | – |
| | Communist | Elizabeth Hill | 84 | 0.16 | -0.19 | – |
| | Independent | Sharon Cromwell | 75 | 0.15 | – | – |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 51,086 | 100.0 | -4.48 | $202,821.40 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 217 | 0.4 | +0.07 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,303 | 72.75 | +5.91 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 70,524 | – | -12.15 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | John Carmichael | 22,962 | 42.93 | +4.11 | – |
| | Liberal | Rob Oliphant | 22,351 | 41.79 | -2.57 | – |
| | New Democratic | Nicole Yovanoff | 6,280 | 11.74 | +1.55 | – |
| | Green | Georgina Wilcock | 1,703 | 3.18 | -3.12 | – |
| | Communist | Dimitris Kabitsis | 186 | 0.35 | +0.02 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 53,482 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 176 | 0.33 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,658 | 66.84 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 80,276 | – | – |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Rob Oliphant | 22,212 | 44.36 | -9.2 | $60,129 |
| | Conservative | John Carmichael | 19,441 | 38.83 | +5.6 | $82,633 |
| | New Democratic | David Sparrow | 5,102 | 10.19 | +1.1 | $67,984 |
| | Green | Georgina Wilcock | 3,155 | 6.30 | +2.8 | $10,725 |
| | Communist | Catherine Holliday | 162 | 0.32 | – | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,072 | 100.00 | $85,470 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | – | 62.8 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Godfrey | 28,709 | 53.4 | -6.4 |
| | Conservative | John Carmichael | 17,908 | 33.3 | +5.0 |
| | New Democratic | David Thomas | 4,902 | 9.1 | +0.5 |
| | Green | Daphne So | 1,906 | 3.5 | +0.2 |
| | Libertarian | Soumen Deb | 226 | 0.4 | |
| | Canadian Action | Paul Barnes | 151 | 0.3 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 53,802 | 100.0 |