John Yakabuski is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the central Ontario riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke for the Progressive Conservative Party. John's father, Paul Yakabuski , was also a Tory MPP from the area from 1963 to 1987.
Yakabuski is a former real-estate sales representative, and was for twenty years the owner-operator of Yakabuski's Home Hardware in Barry's Bay , Ontario. At the time of his election, he was a member of the steering committee of St. Francis Memorial Hospital's Capital Equipment Campaign. He is also active in the local Lutheran church.
Yakabuski was elected to the Barry's Bay municipal council in 1997, and was responsible for overseeing various issues concerning the pending regional amalgamation. He did not seek re-election in 2000.
Yakabuski was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 2003 provincial election, defeating Liberal Derek Nighbor by 595 votes. This result was regarded by some as an upset, as the seat had previously been held by Liberal Sean Conway (Yakabuski's second cousin), and the Liberal Party won a convincing provincial majority in the election. It may be noted, however, that the Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke riding is culturally conservative, and that Conway's strength was based largely on his personal popularity. Yakabuski himself appears to have supported Conway in the 1999 election.
Yakabuski is currently the Tourism and Recreation Critic in the Official Opposition, and is an opponent of the government's plans to reform water management.