# Dick Ruston

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{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = Dick Ruston
| image         = 
| caption       =
| office1       = [Ontario MPP](/source/Member_of_Provincial_Parliament_(Ontario))
| term_start1   = 1975
| term_end1     = 1985
| predecessor1  = ''New riding''
| successor1    = [Pat Hayes](/source/Patrick_Michael_Hayes)
| constituency1 = [Essex North](/source/Essex_North_(provincial_electoral_district))
| term_start2   = 1967
| term_end2     = 1975
| predecessor2  = ''New riding''
| successor2    = ''Riding abolished''
| constituency2 = [Essex—Kent](/source/Essex_North_(provincial_electoral_district))
| party         = [Liberal](/source/Ontario_Liberal_Party)
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1919|08|28}}
| birth_place   = [Essex County, Ontario](/source/Essex_County%2C_Ontario)
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2002|05|19|1919|08|28}}
| death_place   = Essex County, Ontario
| spouse        = Shirley Ruston
| children      = 5
| occupation    = Co-op Manager
}}
'''Richard Fletcher Ruston''' (August 28, 1919 – May 19, 2002) was a politician in [Ontario](/source/Ontario), Canada. He served in the [Legislative Assembly of Ontario](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_Ontario) from 1967 to 1985, as a member of the [Liberal Party](/source/Ontario_Liberal_Party).

==Background==
Ruston was born in [Essex County](/source/Essex_County%2C_Ontario) in southwestern Ontario, and educated in the area. He was manager of the Essex County Medical Co-op. He and his wife Shirley lived in Essex where they raised five children.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/windsorstar/obituary.aspx?n=richard-ruston&pid=157243771#fbLoggedOut |title=Richard Ruston: Obituary |newspaper=Windsor Star |date=May 19, 2002}}</ref>

==Politics==
Ruston was a councillor in [Maidstone Township](/source/Maidstone_Township%2C_Ontario) from 1960 to 1962, [reeve](/source/Reeve_(Canada)) of the community from 1963 to 1968, and an Essex County councillor.<ref name="obit"/>

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the [1967 provincial election](/source/1967_Ontario_general_election), defeating [Progressive Conservative](/source/Progressive_Conservative_Party_of_Ontario) candidate Fred Cada by 991 votes.<ref name="1971 results">{{cite news |title=Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=October 23, 1971 |page=10}}</ref>  He was re-elected in the [1971 election](/source/1971_Ontario_general_election) by roughly the same margin, and won with larger majorities in [1975](/source/1975_Ontario_general_election),<ref name="1975 results">{{cite news |title=Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=September 19, 1975 |page=C12}}</ref> [1977](/source/1977_Ontario_general_election),<ref name="1977 results">{{cite news |title=Ontario provincial election results riding by riding |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 1977 |page=D9}}</ref> and [1981](/source/1981_Ontario_general_election).<ref name="1981 Election Results">{{cite news|author=Canadian Press |title=Winds of change, sea of security |newspaper=The Windsor Star |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0NtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QlIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1444%2C1388326 |date=1981-03-20 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=22 |accessdate=2014-04-01}}</ref>  He served as Liberal Party [whip](/source/Whip_(politics)) for a period.  The Progressive Conservative Party governed Ontario during this period, and Ruston was an opposition member for his legislative career.  He was primarily a defender of farmer's interests.

Ruston announced that he would retire from the legislature in mid-1985, and was not a candidate in [that year's provincial election](/source/1985_Ontario_general_election).<ref>{{cite news |title=2 more MPPs decide to quit |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=February 15, 1985 |page=F11}}</ref>

==Later life==
He died in 2002 after suffering from [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease).<ref>{{cite news |title=Rushton lived for family, electors |first=Brendan |last=Richardson |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=May 22, 2002 |page=A5}}</ref> Fellow MPP and friend [Sean Conway](/source/Sean_Conway_(Canadian_politician)) described him as a follower of Ontario's [Clear Grit](/source/Clear_Grit) tradition, and a believer that "the best government [...] is the smaller unit closest to the people".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2002-05-23&Parl=37&Sess=3&locale=en#P633_121654 |title=Tribute to Richard Ruston |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Ontario |accessdate=May 15, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Ontario MPP biography|id=richard-fletcher-ruston}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruston, Richard}}
Category:1919 births
Category:2002 deaths
Category:Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
Category:People from Essex County, Ontario
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ontario

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dick Ruston](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Ruston) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Ruston?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.