Dick Ruston
{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dick Ruston
| image =
| caption =
| office1 = Ontario MPP
| term_start1 = 1975
| term_end1 = 1985
| predecessor1 = New riding
| successor1 = Pat Hayes
| constituency1 = Essex North
| term_start2 = 1967
| term_end2 = 1975
| predecessor2 = New riding
| successor2 = Riding abolished
| constituency2 = Essex—Kent
| party = Liberal
| birth_date = {{birth date|1919|08|28}}
| birth_place = Essex County, Ontario
| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|05|19|1919|08|28}}
| death_place = Essex County, Ontario
| spouse = Shirley Ruston
| children = 5
| occupation = Co-op Manager
}}
Richard Fletcher Ruston (August 28, 1919 – May 19, 2002) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1985, as a member of the Liberal Party.
Background
Ruston was born in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, and educated in the area. He was manager of the Essex County Medical Co-op. He and his wife Shirley lived in Essex where they raised five children.{{cite news |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/windsorstar/obituary.aspx?n=richard-ruston&pid=157243771#fbLoggedOut |title=Richard Ruston: Obituary |newspaper=Windsor Star |date=May 19, 2002}}
Politics
Ruston was a councillor in Maidstone Township from 1960 to 1962, reeve of the community from 1963 to 1968, and an Essex County councillor.
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1967 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Fred Cada by 991 votes.{{cite news |title=Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=October 23, 1971 |page=10}} He was re-elected in the 1971 election by roughly the same margin, and won with larger majorities in 1975,{{cite news |title=Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=September 19, 1975 |page=C12}} 1977,{{cite news |title=Ontario provincial election results riding by riding |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 1977 |page=D9}} and 1981.{{cite news|author=Canadian Press |title=Winds of change, sea of security |newspaper=The Windsor Star |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0NtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QlIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1444%2C1388326 |date=1981-03-20 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=22 |accessdate=2014-04-01}} He served as Liberal Party whip for a period. The Progressive Conservative Party governed Ontario during this period, and Ruston was an opposition member for his legislative career. He was primarily a defender of farmer's interests.
Ruston announced that he would retire from the legislature in mid-1985, and was not a candidate in that year's provincial election.{{cite news |title=2 more MPPs decide to quit |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=February 15, 1985 |page=F11}}
Later life
He died in 2002 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.{{cite news |title=Rushton lived for family, electors |first=Brendan |last=Richardson |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=May 22, 2002 |page=A5}} Fellow MPP and friend Sean Conway described him as a follower of Ontario's Clear Grit tradition, and a believer that "the best government [...] is the smaller unit closest to the people".{{cite web |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2002-05-23&Parl=37&Sess=3&locale=en#P633_121654 |title=Tribute to Richard Ruston |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Ontario |accessdate=May 15, 2014}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Ontario MPP biography|id=richard-fletcher-ruston}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruston, Richard}}
Category:Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
Category:People from Essex County, Ontario
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario