Rita Johnston facts for kids

Rita Margaret Johnston was born on April 22, 1935, with the last name Leichert. She is a Canadian politician from British Columbia. In 1991, Rita Johnston made history. She became the first female premier in all of Canada. She served as the 29th premier of British Columbia for about seven months.

Rita Johnston grew up in Vancouver. Her parents were John Leichert and Annie Chyzzy. In 1951, she married George Johnston. Before she became a politician, she managed a trailer park in Surrey, British Columbia.

Rita Johnston's Political Journey

Rita Johnston started her political career in her hometown. She was first a city councillor in Surrey. This means she helped make decisions for the city.

Becoming a Member of the Legislative Assembly

In 1983, Rita Johnston was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. This is like being a representative for a part of the province. She was part of the Social Credit Party. She represented the area called Surrey.

She was elected again in 1986 for a new area, Surrey-Newton. She then became a cabinet minister. This meant she was in charge of different government departments. She worked under Premier Bill Vander Zalm. She had worked with him before when he was the mayor of Surrey.

Canada's First Female Premier

In 1990, Premier Vander Zalm chose Rita Johnston to be his deputy premier. This is a very important role, like a second-in-command. When Premier Vander Zalm resigned on April 2, 1991, the Social Credit Party needed a new leader.

The party members voted, and Rita Johnston was chosen as the interim leader. On April 2, 1991, she officially became the premier. This made her the very first woman to lead a province in Canada.

In July 1991, the Social Credit Party held a big meeting. Rita Johnston was formally elected as the leader of the party. She won against another strong candidate, Grace McCarthy.

The 1991 Provincial Election

As premier, Rita Johnston did not have much time to start new projects. She had to call a provincial election later that year. She waited as long as she could, calling the election for October.

However, her connection to the previous premier, Bill Vander Zalm, made things difficult. He had faced some problems, and this affected her chances. Also, her party was divided after the leadership vote. There wasn't much time to fix these issues before the election started.

The Social Credit Party lost the election by a lot. The New Democratic Party, led by Mike Harcourt, won. Many voters who used to support the Social Credit Party switched to the BC Liberals.

The Social Credit Party lost more than half of their votes compared to the 1986 election. They ended up with only seven seats in the Legislative Assembly. They became the third-largest party.

Rita Johnston herself lost her seat in the election. She was defeated by Penny Priddy from the New Democratic Party. Most of her cabinet ministers also lost their seats.

Life After Politics

Rita Johnston resigned as the leader of the Social Credit Party on January 11, 1992. Grace McCarthy took over as leader. After her defeat, Rita Johnston left politics. She has mostly stayed out of the public eye since then.

However, in 2009, she returned to public life for a short time. She worked as an advisor for the British Columbia Conservative Party.