Richard J. "Dick" Cannings (born March 31, 1954) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of South Okanagan—West Kootenay in the House of Commons of Canada in the Canadian federal election, 2015. An alumnus of Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of British Columbia, he is a biologist and author. Cannings was appointed the NDP Critic for Post-Secondary Education as well as the Deputy Critic for Natural Resources in the 42nd Canadian Parliament.