John Melville Turner

:"For the former MP and Prime Minister of Canada see John Turner or John Garth Turner, federal MP"

John Melville Turner (born September 24, 1922) is a former politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1975, and again from 1977 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. He was the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature from 1981 to 1985.

Turner was born and educated in Peterborough, Ontario. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Pilot Officer from 1942 to 1945, and later worked as a business manager. He was an alderman in Peterborough from 1969 to 1971, and also served on the city health board.

Political career

Turner was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1971 provincial election, defeating New Democratic Party incumbent Walter Pitman by 590 votes in the Peterborough constituency. He served as a backbench supporter of Bill Davis's government for the next four years, and lost to NDP candidate Gill Sandeman by 505 votes in the 1975 election.

Turner defeated Sandeman by 2,648 votes in the 1977 election, and again served as a backbench supporter of Davis's government. He defeated Liberal Party candidate Peter Adams by 6,699 votes in the 1981 election, and was appointed as Speaker of the Legislature on April 21, 1981.

The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a tenuous minority government under Frank Miller's leadership in the 1985 provincial election. Turner was re-elected in Peterborough, but was replaced as Speaker by Liberal Hugh Edighoffer when the Tories lost control of the legislature after the election. Turner served as an opposition member for the next two years, and did not seek re-election in 1987.

Turner is a member of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, and a member of the Peterborough Rotary Club.