John Frederick Johnston (16 July 1876 – 9 May 1948) was a Saskatchewan politician. Johnston was born to a wealthy family in Bogarttown, Ontario that owned lumber and flour mills in

Simcoe County Simcoe County is a county and census division located in the central region of Ontario, Canada. The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area, and forms the north western edge of the Golden Horseshoe. The county seat is located in Mi ...

. He moved to

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in 1905 and ultimately settled on a farm near Bladworth, Saskatchewan. In addition to his farm, he owned a lumberyard and hardware store in town and developed a string of

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

s in the region. He was elected by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1917 wartime election as a Liberal-Unionist representing Last Mountain. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

had split over the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 () was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also brought out many issues regarding relatio ...

and Johnston was one of the Liberals who broke with Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

in order to support the pro-

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

Union Government formed by Conservative Prime Minister Sir

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...

. During the parliament, Johnston broke with both the government and the Liberals to support the new agrarian based Progressive Party formed by Thomas Crerar. He won the Progressive Party nomination in his riding and was re-elected in the 1921 federal election as a Progressive MP and became the party's chief

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in the

. Johnston supported co-operation between the Progressives and the Liberals. He was re-elected as a Progressive MP, this time in the riding of Long Lake in the 1925 federal election. The Liberals lost seats in the election but stayed in power leading a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

. Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

convinced Johnston to

cross the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

and join the Liberals in early 1926 in an attempt to buttress his government's support. He was re-elected as a Liberal in the 1926 federal election and, in December 1926, became Deputy

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons () is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), a speaker is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in pre ...

. Johnston was defeated in the 1930 federal election by his

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

opponent and returned to the farm. He was again elected to parliament in the 1935 federal election, this time in the riding of Lake Centre but was defeated in the 1940 federal election by

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

of the Tories. Johnston was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

by Mackenzie King in 1943 and sat in the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

until his death in 1948.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan biography
*
Canada's Historic Places: J. Fred Johnston House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, John Frederick 1876 births 1948 deaths Canadian senators from Saskatchewan Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Liberal-Unionist MPs in Canada Progressive Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan Canadian farmers 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada