Jack Riddell

John Keith Riddell (born December 10, 1931) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1973 to 1990, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.

Jack Riddell
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
In office
June 26, 1985 – August 2, 1989
PremierDavid Peterson
Preceded byK. Ross Stevenson
Succeeded byDavid Ramsay
Ontario MPP
In office
1973–1990
Preceded byCharles MacNaughton
Succeeded byPaul Klopp
ConstituencyHuron/Huron—Middlesex[note 1]
Personal details
Born (1931-12-10) December 10, 1931
London, Ontario
Political partyLiberal
Alma materOntario Agricultural College
OccupationTeacher, livestock sales barn owner/operator, and auctioneer

Background

Riddell was educated at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, Ontario, and worked as a high-school teacher and a livestock sales owner and operator-auctioneer. He is a prominent member of the Agricultural Institute of Canada.

Politics

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in a by-election on March 16, 1973, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Don Southcott by 2,968 votes in the riding of Huron.[1] He was re-elected by somewhat narrower margins in the elections of 1975,[2] 1977,[3] and 1981, in the redistributed riding of Huron—Middlesex.[4]

Riddell was on the traditionalist right-wing of the Liberal Party, and represented agricultural interests in the legislature. He brought forward a private "right-to-farm" bill in the 1980s, attempting to protect farmers against urban incursion and related matters.

The Liberal party formed a minority government following the 1985 provincial election, after having been out of power for 42 years. Riddell, re-elected without difficulty,[5] was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Food on June 26, 1985.[6] Easily re-elected again in the 1987 provincial election,[7] Riddell remained Agriculture Minister until August 2, 1989.[8] He did not run for re-election in 1990.

Later life

Riddell was president of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association in 2003–04, and has served as president of the Ontario Institute of Agrologists. He is also a prominent member of Heartland Community Credit Union Ltd, which was merged to form United Communities Credit Union, and later Libro Credit Union.

On June 11, 2017, Riddell was inducted into the Ontario Agriculture Hall of Fame.[9]

References

Notes
  1. Huron: 1973–1975; Huron—Middlesex: 1975–1987: Huron: 1987–1990.

Citations
  1. Webster, Norman (March 16, 1973). "30-year reigns end: Liberals thump PCs in St. George, Huron". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  2. "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  3. "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  4. Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Election results for Metro Toronto ridings". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  5. "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  6. "Liberals pledge reform as they take over in Ontario". The Gazette. Montreal, Que. June 27, 1985. p. B1.
  7. "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. September 11, 1987. p. F2.
  8. Allen, Gene (August 3, 1989). "Veterans bear load as 8 ministers cut in Peterson shuffle". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
  9. Proulx, William (22 March 2018). "Former MPP inducted into hall of fame". Metroland Media Group Ltd. Exeter Times-Advocate. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
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