David Johnson (Canadian politician)

David John Johnson (born December 17, 1945) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was the mayor of East York from 1982 to 1993, a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1993 to 1999, and a senior cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris.

Johnson has a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University, and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. After graduation, he worked with Imperial Oil from 1968 to 1982.

Johnson served as an alderman in East York from 1972 to 1982, and was the mayor of the former Toronto borough from 1982 to 1993. He also served on the Metropolitan Toronto Council from 1978 to 1980 and again from 1982 to 1993.

He was first elected to the provincial legislature in a by-election held on April 1, 1993, following the death of NDP member Margery Ward in the constituency of Don Mills. Johnson defeated his Liberal opponent, Murad Velshi, by about 3,500 votes.

Johnson was easily re-elected in the 1995 provincial election, in which the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government under Mike Harris. He was appointed as Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet on June 26, 1995, and was also appointed as government house leader on August 16, 1996. He developed a reputation as a calm and skilled negotiator, and generally tried to remain above the partisan bantering that frequently dominates legislative sittings. Johnson also served as interim Minister of Health from December...
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