Patrick Johnston (Canadian politician)

Patrick Johnston is a Canadian administrator and former politician. He was recruited by Liberal Party leader John Turner to contest the 1988 election for the party, but unexpectedly lost his nomination to a rival candidate supported by pro-life activists.

A teacher and social worker from Toronto, Johnston served for six years as leader of the Anti-Poverty Coalition. Originally a member of the New Democratic Party, he joined the Liberals in 1984 after charging the NDP with lacking a coherent economic policy ("Toronto Star", 24 May 1989). He served as senior adviser to Ontario Premier David Peterson's Social Assistance Review Committee, and was co-chair of the federal Liberal Party's election committee in 1988.

Despite strong support from the party establishment, he lost to Liberal nomination in Scarborough West to a little-known Toronto lawyer named Tom Wappel, 523 votes to 372 ("Globe and Mail", 12 September 1988). Wappel, a staunch social conservative, was supported by members of the anti-abortion group Campaign Life. Johnston, 39 years old in 1988, remained a senior policy adviser to John Turner after this defeat.

Johnston was hired as a policy adviser for Ontario David Peterson in 1989 ("Toronto Star", 1 April 1989), and held this position until Peterson's defeat in 1990. He later served as director of the Canadian Council on Social Development. In the latter capacity, he promoted economic intervention to address poverty issues ("Toronto Star", 18 December 1993) and spoke out against workfare programs ("Toronto Star", 22 September 1993).

In 1994, Johnston chaired a task-force convened by cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy on reforms to Canada's welfare state ("Toronto Star", 13 June 1994). He later served as president of the Canadian Centre for Philanthrophy, an umbrella group covering a variety of charitable groups ("Globe and Mail", 25 October 1997).