Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae[3] PC CC OOnt KC (born August 2, 1948)[4] is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020.[5] He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party from 1982 to 1996, and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011 to 2013. Between 1978 and 2013, he was elected 11 times to federal (Broadview, Broadview-Greenwood, Toronto Centre) and provincial (York South) parliaments.[4]
For people named Robert Rae, see Robert Rae (disambiguation). For the similarly named American filmmaker, see Bob Ray. For the American comedy duo, see Bob and Ray.
Bob Rae
Office established
Liberal (1968; 2006–present)
New Democratic (1974–2006)
Ontario New Democratic (1974–1998)
3
Jackie Rae (uncle), John A. Rae (brother)
- Lawyer
- academic
Rae was a New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament from 1978 to 1982. He then moved to provincial politics, serving as leader of the Ontario NDP from February 7, 1982, to June 22, 1996. After leading his party to victory in the 1990 provincial election he served as the 21st Premier of Ontario from October 1, 1990, to June 26, 1995, and was the first person to have led a provincial NDP government east of Manitoba. While in office, he brought forward a number of initiatives that were unpopular with many traditional NDP supporters, such as the Social Contract. Rae's subsequent disagreement with the leftward direction of the NDP led him to resign his membership. In 2006, he joined the Liberals; he had previously been a Liberal in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 2006, Rae was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberals, finishing in third place on the third ballot. He returned to the House of Commons of Canada on March 31, 2008, as a Liberal MP after winning a March 17, 2008 by-election, holding the riding that had previously been held by Liberal Bill Graham. He was re-elected in the 2008 general election. Rae ran again as a candidate for the party leadership but withdrew on December 12, 2008. He was re-elected in the Toronto Centre riding in the 2011 general election and was named interim leader of the Liberal Party weeks later,[6] replacing Michael Ignatieff; he served in that position until Justin Trudeau's election as party leader in early 2013.[7]
On June 19, 2013, Rae announced that he would resign from parliament in order to become chief negotiator for James Bay area First Nations in their negotiations with the provincial government.[8] His resignation from parliament became effective July 31, 2013.[9] Rae joined Olthuis Kleer Townshend (OKT Law) LLP (a law firm specializing in representing Aboriginal clients) as a partner in February 2014. Rae sits as an advisor to Canada's Ecofiscal Commission. Rae was appointed Canada's special envoy to Myanmar in October 2017 and advised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the Rohingya crisis.[10][11] He is also a Senior Fellow to the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. On July 6, 2020, his appointment as Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Family[edit]
Rae was born in Ottawa, Ontario. His parents were Lois Esther (George) and Saul Rae,[12] an eminent Canadian career diplomat who had postings in Washington, Geneva, New York, Mexico, and The Hague.[13] Rae's paternal grandparents immigrated from Scotland, and his mother had English ancestry. Rae was raised as an Anglican. As an adult, he found out that his paternal grandfather was Jewish and was from a family of Lithuanian immigrants to Scotland.[14]
Rae's elder brother John A. Rae (born 1945) was an executive vice-president and director of Power Corporation and a prominent member of the Liberal Party. He was also an adviser to Jean Chrétien when he was Indian Affairs Minister in 1968, and then again from 1993 until 2003 while Chrétien was prime minister.[15][16] Rae's younger brother, David, was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1987. Despite a bone marrow transplant from his brother, he died of leukemia in 1989 at age 32.[17]
Rae learned of his family's Jewish origins in 1968. The revelation had a strong impact on him: he sought to explore his Jewish culture, dated Jewish girls exclusively and ultimately married a Jewish woman.[18] Upon his marriage to Arlene Perly Rae, Rae agreed to raise three daughters in his wife's Jewish faith.[19] Rae is a member of Holy Blossom Temple, a Reform Jewish congregation in Toronto.[20]
His uncle, the late Jackie Rae, was an entertainer and former host of The Jackie Rae Show on CBC and also performed on British television.
Early career[edit]
Rae attended Crichton Street Public School in Ottawa, Horace Mann Public School and Gordon Junior High School in Washington, D.C. (1956–1961), and the International School of Geneva, Switzerland. His first job was a paper route delivering the Washington's Evening Star newspaper, which he later described as "one of the worst newspapers in the history of modern journalism". His customers included Richard Nixon and Estes Kefauver. Rae later joked that Kefauver gave him a $20 tip one Christmas, whereas Pat Nixon only gave him a quarter and made him more sympathetic to Democrats from that moment.[21]
Rae graduated with honours from University College, University of Toronto, where he also later received his law degree. Michael Ignatieff, who later became Rae's rival for the Liberal Party leadership, was his roommate for a time.[22] He first became involved in politics by volunteering on Trudeau's 1968 Liberal leadership campaign, and later worked on Liberal Charles Caccia's campaign in the 1968 federal election.[23] Rae and Caccia have remained personal friends through their political careers. During his final year as an undergraduate, Rae was a student representative on the Bissell Commission on University Government.[24]
As a result of his strong student record, Rae was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford,[25] where he studied at Balliol College, Oxford under Isaiah Berlin.[26] His Bachelor of Philosophy thesis criticized the cultural imperialism of early Fabian socialists in the United Kingdom, such as Sidney and Beatrice Webb. During his period in Britain he became involved with social work, helping squatters find rental accommodation in London. He attributes the experience with helping him develop a deepened commitment to social justice and, on his return to Canada in 1974 Rae joined the social democratic NDP.[27] He worked in labour law during the mid-1970s.[28][2]
Federal New Democrat MP[edit]
Rae was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a 1978[2] by-election, defeating Progressive Conservative Tom Clifford by 420 votes in the Toronto riding of Broadview. Rae won the NDP nomination over former MP John Paul Harney and activist Kay Macpherson.[29]
He won a full term in the 1979 federal election from the renamed riding of Broadview—Greenwood,[2] and gained national prominence as the NDP's finance critic. In December 1979 he proposed a subamendment to the budget motion, stating that the House of Commons did not approve of Clark's budget.[30] It was this motion's passage that toppled Clark's government after only eight months.
Rae was elected to parliament for a third time in the 1980 federal election, and married Arlene Perly days later.[31] In caucus, he sided with party leader Ed Broadbent in supporting patriation of the Canadian Constitution with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[32] He also articulated his party's policy on the Canadian Bank Act, and criticized the Bank of Canada's high interest rate policy.[33][2]