John Weston
Member of Parliament
for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country
In office
October 14, 2008 – October 19, 2015
Preceded byBlair Wilson
Succeeded byPamela Goldsmith-Jones
Personal details
Born (1958-04-19) April 19, 1958
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyConservative
ResidenceWest Vancouver, British Columbia
ProfessionLawyer

John D. Weston, (born April 19, 1958) is a former Canadian politician, who was a Member of Parliament from 2008 to 2015, representing the electoral district of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country.[1][2] He is a member of the Conservative Party.

Weston studied International Relations at Harvard University, law at Osgoode Hall Law School, and is able to speak Mandarin as well as French and English.[3] He then worked as a lawyer in Canada and in Taiwan. He is a founder of Pan Pacific Law Corporation and Access Law Group, as well as the Canadian Constitution Foundation.[4]

Weston ran in the 2006 Canadian federal election but was defeated, by Blair Wilson.[5] Weston lost by 1.5%, or 976 votes.

During the 40th Parliament, he served as a member of the Aboriginal Affairs, Fisheries, and Library of Parliament Standing Committees, and as the Government Liaison to the Persian and Iranian Community, and as the Vice Chair of the Conservative Community Relations Committee.

After being re-elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election, Weston has served on the Citizenship and Immigration Committee and as a member of the Official Languages Committee.[6]

Weston introduced bill C-475, which amended the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, to make it illegal to possess, produce, sell or import chemicals with the knowledge they will be used to create street drugs, though it was later tabled.[7]

Weston created a National Health and Fitness Day bill, commenting: "On a personal level I just saw when I reached Ottawa how unhealthy was the lifestyle that MPs lead — so much time on airplanes and in committees and sitting in Parliament. I just resolved that if I was going to remain productive and useful to the people who voted me in, I needed to work at staying healthy."[8]

In his column in The Tyee, political commentator Rafe Mair has been extremely critical of Weston's approach to environmental issues and his role as a Member of Parliament.[9] Mair has repeatedly accused Weston of blindly adhering to Conservative Party policy on all issues.[10] In an article dated January 19, 2015, Mair alleged that in Weston's time as an MP he had "never uttered a single word of criticism of any statement or action by the [Conservative] government".[11] Weston and Mair are former colleagues from Mair's time as a BC MLA, and his role as minister responsible for constitutional reform during that period.[12] Weston has responded to Mair by claiming that he carefully considers his position on environmental issues and comes to his own decision.[12] In a responding letter to the editor, Weston also stated that Mair's critique had ignored the role of the democratic process and denigrated MPs' role in it.[13]

In the 2015 federal election, he was defeated by Liberal candidate Pamela Goldsmith-Jones.

In the 2021 Canadian federal election, he was once again defeated, this time by incumbent Liberal MP Patrick Weiler

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalPatrick Weiler*21,50033.9
ConservativeJohn Weston19,06230.0
New DemocraticAvi Lewis16,26525.60
GreenMike Simpson4,1086.50
People'sDoug Bebb2,2993.60–
RhinocerosGordon Jeffrey980.20–
IndependentChris MacGregor770.10–
IndependentTerry Grimwood500.10–
Total valid votes 63,459100.00
Total rejected ballots 279
Turnout 63,738 64.87-2.48
Eligible voters 98,256 ––
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeJohn Weston*28,61445.53+0.96
New DemocraticTerry Platt14,82823.59+9.16
LiberalDaniel Veniez14,12322.47-4.10
GreenBrennan Wauters4,4367.06-7.37
Progressive CanadianRoger Lagassé2930.47–
LibertarianTunya Audain2500.40–
Western BlockAllan Holt1560.25–
Marxist–LeninistCarol Lee Chapman870.14–
Canadian ActionDoug Hartt640.10–
Total valid votes 62,851100.00
Total rejected ballots 221 0.35+0.01
Turnout 63,072 64.17-0.28
Eligible voters 98,293 ––
2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeJohn Weston26,94944.57+8.60$94,785
LiberalIan Sutherland16,06926.57-10.93$74,135
New DemocraticBill Forst8,72814.43-5.63$18,762
GreenBlair Wilson*8,72314.43+8.20$95,067
Total valid votes/Expense limit 60,469 100.00$100,350
Total rejected ballots 2080.34 +0.12
Turnout 60,67764.45-4.1
Conservative gain from Green Swing +9.8
2006 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
  Liberal Blair Wilson 23,867 37.50 +4.99 $82,304
ConservativeJohn Weston22,88135.97+0.68$86,639
  New Democratic Party Judith Wilson 12,766 20.06 -1.66 $50,621
GreenSilvaine Zimmermann3,9666.23-3.49$3,532
Marxist–LeninistAnne Jamieson1550.22+0.02$0
Total valid votes 63,635 100.00
Total rejected ballots 144 0.23 0.0
Turnout 63,635 68.6 +2.6
  Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +2.2

References

  1. ↑ West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country: 2008 Results
  2. ↑ Conservatives make gains in B.C.
  3. ↑ Aaron Wherry (1 April 2009). "The Crimson in their midst". Beyond the Commons. Macleans.ca. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  4. ↑ New MP profile: West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea-to-Sky's John Weston Archived July 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Parliament of Canada. "Member of Parliament Profile - Elections". House of Commons. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Parliament of Canada. "Member of Parliament Profile - Committees". House of Commons. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Weldon, James. "The North Shore News - Weston tables bill for [http://www.nationalhealthandfitnessday.com national health and fitness day]". The North Shore News. The North Shore News. Retrieved 1 October 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Ingram, Ben. "The Coast Reporter -". The Coast Reporter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  9. ↑ Mair, Rafe (9 June 2014). "Help Rafe Mair Lift His Gloom Today". The Tyee.
  10. ↑ Mair, Rafe (15 September 2014). "Mulroney Knocks Harper? Oh This Is Rich!". The Tyee.
  11. ↑ Mair, Rafe (19 January 2015). "Mair Predicts: Greens Will Hold Balance of Power". The Tyee.
  12. 1 2 Weston, John (23 June 2014). "Dear Rafe Mair: I'm Not Giving Up". The Tyee.
  13. ↑ Weston, John (1 October 2014). "'The Environment Is the Economy': MP Weston". The Tyee.
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