Preceded by Pat Hoy Education St. Clair College Name Rick Nicholls | Children 3 Spouse(s) Dianne | |
 | ||
Occupation Motivational speaker, business development Political party Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Profiles | ||
Frederick R. "Rick" Nicholls (born October 12, 1951) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in the 2011 election. He represents the riding of Chatham-Kent—Essex.
Contents
Background
Nicholls was born in Chatham-Kent, Ontario. He attended St. Clair College and the University of Windsor. His great-great-grandfather, Frederick George Rumball, was the mayor of London, Ontario from 1900-1901. Amongst his political heroes is former American President Ronald Reagan.
Nicholls was the founder of Nicholls Training Group, a training and development company. His clients included the Canadian Embassy to the United Nations, Canada Post and Ford Motor Company of Canada. He and his wife Dianne live in Chatham-Kent where they raised three children.
Politics
Nicholls ran in the provincial election of 2011 as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Chatham-Kent—Essex. He defeated Liberal candidate Paul Watson by 3,490 votes. He was re-elected in the 2014 election defeating NDP candidate Dan Gelinas by 2,516 votes.
Nicholls is an outspoken opponent of wind turbines. Citing the potential health hazards of wind turbines, he has called for a moratorium on their construction.
In 2012, Nicholls called for a more thorough investigation into a massive fish kill incident along the shores of Lake Erie in early September 2012.
On February 24, 2015, Nicholls stated that it was "not a bad idea" to allow parents to opt their children out of learning about evolution. He later clarified his remarks by stating that he does not believe in evolution.
He is the party's critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services.