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John Williamson (Canadian politician)

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John Williamson
MP
Member of Parliament
for New Brunswick Southwest
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byKaren Ludwig
In office
May 2, 2011 – October 19, 2015
Preceded byGreg Thompson
Succeeded byKaren Ludwig
Personal details
Born (1970-01-30) January 30, 1970 (age 54)
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Political partyConservative
ResidenceSaint Andrews, New Brunswick[1]

John S. L. Williamson MP (born January 30, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has represented the riding of New Brunswick Southwest in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada since 2019. He represented the riding from 2011[2] until his defeat in the 2015 election. He was elected again in the 2019 election.

Education

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Williamson graduated from Fredericton High School, and then McGill University with a degree in economics and political science. He later went on to receive a master's degree in economic history at the London School of Economics.[3]

Arms

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Mr. Williamson is an heraldic heir, entitled to inherit a coat of arms. [2].

Early career

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Williamson joined the National Post as an editorial writer and was a founding member of the newspaper's editorial board (1998-2001[4]) before moving on to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in September 2002. After opening up the organization's Toronto office, as provincial director for Ontario, he was promoted to federal director in January 2004, acting as Ottawa spokesperson until his departure in September 2008, national director in Ottawa.[5][6]

In 2009, Williamson was hired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to become director of communications in the PMO and oversaw government-wide communications from his PMO perch. He stepped down in 2010 in order to prepare his campaign after deciding to run for elected office, and was succeeded as director of communications by Dimitri Soudas.

Member of Parliament

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Williamson was introduced, along with other candidates for the 41st Parliament, to readers of the St. Croix Courier in an April 2011 interview.[7]

Williamson is an outspoken MP who sometimes speaks up against his own government policies, such as C-30,[8] a bill that ignited some controversy about online anonymity.

Williamson is also responsible for creating public calls for an oil pipeline from its Alberta origin to Saint John, New Brunswick, that would carry undistilled petroleum product to the east and across the St. Lawrence River for refining at the J. D. Irving plant.[9]

Williamson has called repeatedly for the creation of a federal "Sunshine" list that would publish the salary information of public servants who earn over $100,000 per year, as is done in some provinces,[10] for example when he seconded in Parliament Brent Rathgeber's Private Member's Bill C-461, to propose the CBC and Public Service Disclosure and Transparency Act,[11] on two occasions: upon first reading,[12] and then upon reintroduction.[13] Rathgeber resigned from the Conservative caucus on June 5, 2013,[14][15] and Bill C-461 was knifed by the Conservative caucus in the amendment stage on February 26, 2014.[16]

In April 2012 Williamson visited Toronto restaurant owner, Naveen Polapady, who was charged by Toronto Police with assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and administering a noxious substance (a reference to the thrown spices) after allegedly defending his property from a repeated thief using spices from his kitchen. Williamson was quoted[17] as saying "Like a lot of Canadians, when I heard this story I was outraged and concerned that once again the Toronto Police had targeted the wrong individual" referring to the previous case of David Chen who had been charged when he apprehended a thief who had been stealing from his Chinatown store.[18]

On April 5, 2012, the Conservative majority in the Canadian Senate voted to scrap the long-gun registry. In a speech in the House of Commons, Williamson quoted Martin Luther King Jr.: "Free at last, free at last", accompanied by cheers by other Conservative MPs. This comment dismayed many, who thought it inappropriate to paraphrase the words of a man who was killed by a rifle.[19]

On June 1, 2012 a story about Williamson's dismay in regard to International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda's travel expense claims surfaced in a CBC article.[20] Williamson stated that he had brought the claims up in a caucus meeting but would not specify what he said due to caucus confidence. A member of his staff did, however, mention it could be taken in context of Williamson's past days as the National Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

In March 2013 Williamson joined several backbench Conservative MPs in speaking to a Point of Privilege launched by MP Mark Warawa to the Speaker. Williamson advocated to increase the freedom of individual MPs to speak in the House of Commons by encouraging the Speaker to recognize any MP who wishes to make a Member's Statement and also to pose a question in Question Period. The practice of the Speaker up to that point had been to recognize MPs who were allocated speaking spots by each party's leadership.[21]

Williamson has said Alward should schedule the Senate vote for the same day as the 2014 provincial election. "I worry that if we wait until 2016, we're going to miss an opportunity, when the next Senate vacancy after that won't be until 2020, and that's an awfully long time," Williamson said.[22]

He also supported Bill C-461, a controversial private member's bill that would have enacted a law that would publicly disclose the names and salaries of every federal employee earning in excess of $188,000. In a speech supporting the bill, Williamson stated that he thought the threshold should be even lower, and set at the rate of pay of MPs, which was $157,000 at the time.[23]

On October 1, 2014, Williamson made a statement in the House of Commons criticising the incoming Liberal provincial government in New Brunswick over its moratorium on shale gas development.[24]

On March 8, 2015, it was reported that Williamson made this remark about the Temporary Foreign Workers Program: "It makes no sense to pay 'whities' to stay home while we bring in brown people to work in these jobs." Williamson later apologized on Twitter for his "offensive and inappropriate language".[25][26]

In the 2015 election, Williamson was defeated by Liberal candidate Karen Ludwig.[27] He reclaimed the seat in the 2019 Federal election.[28]

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election: New Brunswick Southwest
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative John Williamson 18,309 50.0 +0.8 $75,984.11
Liberal Jason Hickey 8,750 23.9 -1.6 $51,273.87
New Democratic Richard Trevor Warren 4,893 13.4 +5.2 $814.71
People's Meryl Sarty 3,090 8.4 +5.3 $6,020.69
Green John Reist 1,587 4.3 -9.2 $3,397.49
Total valid votes/expense limit 36,629 99.4 – $105,371.47
Total rejected ballots 239 0.6
Turnout 36,868 67.4
Eligible voters 54,730
Conservative hold Swing +1.2
Source: Elections Canada[29]
2019 Canadian federal election: New Brunswick Southwest
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative John Williamson 19,451 49.15 +10.59 $88,037.67
Liberal Karen Ludwig 10,110 25.54 -18.38 $77,377.08
Green Susan Jonah 5,352 13.52 +8.57 $7,039.17
New Democratic Doug Mullin 3,251 8.21 -4.36 $0.00
People's Meryl Sarty 1,214 3.07 - $5,133.77
Veterans Coalition Abe Scott 200 0.51 - $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 39,578 100.00    
Total rejected ballots 301 0,75 +0.17
Turnout 39,879 74,46 +0.21
Eligible voters 53,556
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +14.49
Source: Elections Canada[30][31]
2015 Canadian federal election: New Brunswick Southwest
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Karen Ludwig 16,656 43.92 +30.36 $58,390.36
Conservative John Williamson 14,625 38.56 -18.10 $115,782.35
New Democratic Andrew Graham 4,768 12.57 -10.74 $14,930.22
Green Gayla MacIntosh 1,877 4.95 -0.15 $1,331.74
Total valid votes/expense limit 37,926 100.00   $198,596.97
Total rejected ballots 220 0.58 -0.01
Turnout 38,146 74.25 +9.54
Eligible voters 51,376
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +24.23
Source: Elections Canada[32][33]
2011 Canadian federal election: New Brunswick Southwest
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative John Williamson 18,066 56.64 -1.68 $46,347.59
New Democratic Andrew Graham 7,413 23.24 +6.69 $7,703.67
Liberal Kelly Wilson 4,320 13.54 -6.03 $25,159.26
Green Janice Harvey 1,646 5.16 -0.40 $7,546.35
Christian Heritage Jason Farris 450 1.41 – $2,698.60
Total valid votes/expense limit 31,895 100.0     $81,201.04
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 188 0.59 -0.01
Turnout 32,083 64.71 +3.54
Eligible voters 49,578
Conservative hold Swing -4.18
Sources:[34][35]

References

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  1. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Election 2011: New Brunswick Southwest. The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2011.
  3. ^ "John Williamson, MP". Canada Strong and Free Network. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ "About John Williamson". John Williamson MP. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Canadian Newswire, Media Advisory — John Williamson to leave Canadian Taxpayers Federation". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  6. ^ Landriault, Sarah (26 May 2008). "John Williamson to leave the Canadian Taxpayers Federation". Western Standard. The Shotgun Blog. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  7. ^ "The Saint Croix Courier - 19 April 2011" Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, p.2
  8. ^ "Facing a backlash, Ottawa moves to retool cybercrime bill". The Globe and Mail. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Pipe Alberta oil east, New Brunswick MP says". The Chronicle Herald. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  10. ^ Canada.com, Archived May 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ parl.gc.ca: "LEGISInfo - Private Member’s Bill 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, C-461"
  12. ^ parl.gc.ca: "HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA 41st PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Journals No. 176 Monday, November 5, 2012 11:00 a.m."
  13. ^ openparliament.ca: "John Williamson on CBC and Public Service Disclosure and Transparency Act", 26 Mar 2013
  14. ^ Rathgeber, Brent. "Brent Rathgeber, MP". Twitter. Brent Rathgeber. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  15. ^ therecord.com: "A political barometer of voter discontent", 8 Jun 2013
  16. ^ parl.gc.ca: "Private Member’s Bill 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, C-461 - Recorded Votes"
  17. ^ QMI: [1][usurped]
  18. ^ "Toronto Chinatown grocer found not guilty". CBC News. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  19. ^ Tories: Canada's 'free at last' from gun registry. City-TV Toronto., April 5, 2012.
  20. ^ "Oda's travel expenses cause dissent in Tory caucus". CBC News. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Tory backbenchers plead for greater freedom from Harper's tight grip". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. April 2, 2013.
  22. ^ "Tory MP calls on Alward to move up Senate election date Conservative MP John Williamson says Senate elections should be held in 2014". CBC News. CBC News. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  23. ^ "Debates (Hansard) No. 229 - March 26, 2013 (41-1) - House of Commons of Canada".
  24. ^ "Debates (Hansard) No. 120 - October 1, 2014 (41-2) - House of Commons of Canada".
  25. ^ John Williamson apologizes for 'offensive' comment on temporary workers program. CBC News, Published and retrieved 8 March 2015.
  26. ^ "Chris Selley on John Williamson: Why claim insight into a stranger's character based on a single statement?". National Post. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  27. ^ Maloney, Ryan (20 October 2015). "6 Controversial Tory Incumbents Who Lost (And 2 Who Didn't)". Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  28. ^ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts".
  29. ^ "Confirmed candidates — New Brunswick Southwest". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  30. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  31. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  32. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for New Brunswick Southwest, 30 September 2015
  33. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  34. ^ Elections Canada – Official voting results, Forty-first general election, 2011
  35. ^ Elections Canada – Candidate's electoral campaign return, 41st general election
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