# Rick Johnson (Canadian politician)

Rick Johnson is a former Canadian politician and musician. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2009 to 2011 who represented the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. He was elected in a by-election on March 5, 2009, defeating Progressive Conservative leader John Tory. He lost to Laurie Scott in the 2011 election who had previously held the riding.

## Background

Before entering politics, Johnson was a musician, working alongside his wife Terri Crawford both in the Terry Crawford Band of the 1970s and 1980s and later as a children's music duo billed as Terri & Rick.

## Politics

Johnson previously served as a public school trustee for, and chair of, the Trillium Lakelands District School Board and as president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association. In his term on the OPSBA, Johnson introduced breakfast, co-operative education and literacy programs for his district. He has also served on the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce.
Johnson was the Liberal candidate in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock in the 2007 provincial election, losing to Laurie Scott. On January 9, 2009, Scott announced she was resigning her seat in order to provide Conservative Leader John Tory a seat in the legislature. Johnson capitalized on public anger from Scott's move and narrowly defeated Tory in the subsequent by-election.
Johnson served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure, Bob Chiarelli. He previously served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In the 2011 election, Johnson lost again to P.C. candidate Laurie Scott by 6,000 votes in the 2011 provincial election. He ran again in 2014 but lost again to Scott, this time by more than 3,000 votes.

## Electoral record

2011 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Laurie Scott | 22,357 | 45.4 | +4.3 |
| | Liberal | Rick Johnson | 16,522 | 33.6 | -10.13 |
| | New Democratic | Don Abel | 8,517 | 17.3 | +11.32 |
| | Green | Anita Payne | 1,652 | 3.2 | -3.44 |
| | Freedom | Charles Olito | 254 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 48,942 | 100.00 |
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock by-election, March 5, 2009 resignation of Laurie Scott :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Rick Johnson | 15,482 | 43.73 | +14.22 |
| Progressive Conservative | John Tory | 14,576 | 41.17 | -8.73 |
| Green | Mike Schreiner | 2,352 | 6.64 | -0.56 |
| New Democratic | Lyn Edwards | 2,117 | 5.98 | -5.92 |
| Independent | Jason Taylor | 320 | 0.90 | |
| Family Coalition | Jake Pothaar | 258 | 0.73 | -0.07 |
| Freedom | Bill Denby | 140 | 0.40 | -0.4 |
| Independent | John Turmel | 92 | 0.26 | |
| Libertarian | Paolo Fabrizio | 71 | 0.20 | |
2007 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Progressive Conservative | Laurie Scott | 24,272 | 49.9 | |
| Liberal | Rick Johnson | 14,324 | 29.5 | |
| New Democratic | Joan Corrigan | 5,773 | 11.9 | |
| Green | Douglas Smith | 3,475 | 7.2 | – |
| Freedom | Bill Denby | 391 | 0.8 | |
| Family Coalition | Jake Pothaar | 364 | 0.8 | |