John Richardson (Canadian MP)

John Richardson
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Perth—Wellington—Waterloo
In office 1993–1997
Preceded by	Harry Brightwell
Succeeded by	Riding Dissolved
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Perth—Middlesex
In office 1997 – 11 October 2002
Preceded by	Riding Established
Succeeded by	Gary Schellenberger
Personal details
Born	John Alexander Richardson (1932-12-01)1 December 1932 Peterborough, Ontario
Died	Peterborough, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Profession	Military Officer, Educator

BGen John Alexander "Jack" Richardson (1 December 1932 – 2 June 2010) was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2002. His career was in education and defence. During his term with the Canadian Forces, he attained the rank of Brigadier General.

He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Commerce, then from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education with a Masters of Education. He served with the Canadian Forces from 1952, including a tour of duty in Germany. He eventually reached the rank of Brigadier General as a reservist. In 1961, he joined Norwood Secondary School where he was a teacher and vice-principal and served at other schools, finally reaching Stratford, Ontario where he became superintendent of instruction.

After his retirement from education, Richardson was elected in the 1993 federal election at the Perth—Wellington—Waterloo electoral district for the Liberal party. After riding restructuring, he was re-elected at the Perth—Middlesex electoral district in the 1997 and 2000 federal elections. In all, Richardson served in the 35th and 36th Canadian Parliaments but abruptly resigned 11 October 2002 before completing his term in the 37th Canadian Parliament.

The reasons for his resignation were initially declared to be "personal", but later reports indicated Richardson had been ill for some time. A subsequent by-election loss of Richardson's riding to Progressive Conservative candidate Gary Schellenberger was blamed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on Richardson's reluctance to leave Canadian politics when his health began deteriorating.

Richardson died in his birth city of Peterborough, Ontario on 2 June 2010 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

External links

• John Richardson (Canadian MP) – Parliament of Canada biography
• CBC Canada Votes 2006: Perth-Wellington, accessed 29 July 2006

• House of Commons Debates (Hansard): 11 October 2002, resignation of Richardson and tributes, accessed 29 July 2006