88-646: Robert Keith Rae PC CC OOnt KC (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. 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
176-404: A January 1991 poll. The government was unable to sustain its popularity, however, and by late 1992 had fallen to third place in public opinion polls. The party's popularity continued to ebb throughout 1993, followed by only a modest recovery in the next two years. This, among other factors, partially contributed to a significant decline in support for the federal NDP. There are many reasons for
264-604: A Privy Council meeting presided over by the governor general occurred on 15 August 1873, in which Governor General the Earl of Dufferin outlined "the terms on which he would agree to a prorogation of Parliament" during the Pacific Scandal . When he served as viceroy, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne , put an end to the practice of the governor general presiding over Privy Council meetings, other than for ceremonial occasions. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King had
352-710: A contemporary newspaper account, the conference, on 27 March, at Rideau Hall , consisted of 12 individuals, including Chief Justice Bora Laskin , who presided over the meeting; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ; several cabinet ministers; Stanley Knowles of the New Democratic Party ; and Alvin Hamilton of the Progressive Conservative Party . All gathered were informed of the Prince's engagement, nodded their approval, and then toasted
440-597: A falling-out with both the public sector unions, most notably Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), and the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and its leader Buzz Hargrove . Sid Ryan , Ontario President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees stated that Rae's passing of the "Social Contract" was unforgivable. Macleans reported that Rae had been delivered "a secret ultimatum" "by Canadian and international bond dealers". If he didn't get
528-412: A full coalition, but did not strongly argue this case with other members of his party. Peterson later indicated that he would not have accepted a coalition in any event. The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in a no-confidence motion on June 18, 1985, and Lieutenant-Governor John Black Aird asked Peterson to form a new government. Rae himself moved the motion of non-confidence, as he had done in
616-512: A full term in the 1979 federal election from the renamed riding of Broadview—Greenwood , 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 . It was this motion's passage that toppled Clark's government after only eight months. Rae was elected to parliament for
704-688: A leadership convention in early 1982. When Rae won the NDP leadership, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party had governed Ontario since 1943 and was widely regarded as unbeatable. Rae was strongly critical of the Bill Davis government's approach to social issues, and used his acceptance speech to describe the PC Party's Ontario as "Toryland", "essentially a country club in which women and people of colour were not welcome". His comments were criticized by some in
792-400: A majority. Rae entered into negotiations with both Premier Miller and Peterson, the latter begun by a phone call from Rae to Peterson shortly after election day. Rae and Peterson signed a "Liberal-NDP Accord" in which the NDP agreed to support a Liberal government in office for two years. The Liberals, in turn, agreed to implement some policies favoured by the NDP. Rae had personally supported
880-584: A member of His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada. I will in all things to be treated, debated and resolved in Privy Council, faithfully, honestly and truly declare my mind and my opinion. I shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council. Generally, in all things I shall do as a faithful and true servant ought to do for His Majesty. Provincial premiers are not commonly appointed to
968-477: A privy councillor of long standing, be given the style the Right Honourable upon his retirement from Parliament. According to Eugene Forsey , Privy Council meetings—primarily meetings of the full Cabinet or the prime minister and senior ministers, held with the governor general presiding—were not infrequent occurrences in the first 15 years following Canadian Confederation in 1867. One example of
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#17327802619371056-404: A promise to introduce public auto insurance in the 1987 and 1990 campaigns. After assuming office, Rae appointed Peter Kormos , one of the most vocal proponents of public insurance, as the minister responsible for bringing forward the policy. With the onset of the recession, however, both business and labour groups expressed concern about layoffs and lost revenues. The government backtracked from
1144-592: A result, Rae became Leader of the Opposition once the legislature resumed. In September 1989, Rae took part in a highly publicized protest in support of native land claims in the middle of the Temagami Forest in Northern Ontario . Following discussions with Chief Gary Potts , Rae agreed to participate in a road sit-in to protect a strand of old pine, a key aspect of the native claim. After
1232-604: A small surplus earlier in the year, but a worsening North American economy led to a $ 700 million deficit before Rae took office. In October, the NDP projected a $ 2.5 billion deficit for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 1991. Some economists projected soaring deficits for the upcoming years, even if the Rae government implemented austerity measures. Rae himself was critical of the Bank of Canada's high interest rate policy, arguing that it would lead to increased unemployment throughout
1320-570: A strong majority government with 74 seats. The popular vote was very close, with the NDP outpolling the Liberals 37% to 34%. Several ridings were won by narrow margins. However, the NDP managed to take many seats from the Liberals in the Greater Toronto Area , and also did better than ever before (or in some cases, since) in many other cities and rural areas. Due to the nature of the first-past-the-post electoral system, which ignores
1408-652: A third time in the 1980 federal election , and married Arlene Perly days later. In caucus, he sided with party leader Ed Broadbent in supporting patriation of the Canadian Constitution with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms . He also articulated his party's policy on the Canadian Bank Act, and criticized the Bank of Canada 's high interest rate policy. During the same period Rae was in Ottawa,
1496-628: Is a member of Holy Blossom Temple , a Reform Jewish congregation in Toronto. 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. 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
1584-711: Is agreed as the beginning of the Ontario government's concessions to international corporations. Indeed, no less than a year later at Davos, Rae arrived as a pro-business head of government. He approached the World Economic Forum as a unabashed champion of the international corporation working against the expansion of workers' wages and government services. He proposed giving a large majority of Ontario's investment planning to international banking and securities firms, meeting with Deutsche Bank , Goldman Sachs and Nomura Securities , all of whom sold Ontario bonds on
1672-698: Is distinct but also entwined within the Privy Council, as the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada customarily serves as one of its members and Cabinet ministers receive assistance in the performance of their duties from the Privy Council Office , headed by the clerk of the Privy Council . While the Cabinet specifically deals with the regular, day-to-day functions of the King-in-Council, occasions of wider national importance—such as
1760-683: Is formally referred to as His Majesty's Government , is defined by the Canadian constitution as the sovereign acting on the advice of the Privy Council; what is known as the Governor-in-Council , referring to the governor general of Canada as the King's stand-in. The group of people is described as "a Council to aid and advise in the Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy Council for Canada", though, by convention ,
1848-512: The Social Contract , austerity legislation which reopened collective bargaining agreements with the province's public sector unions. This legislation imposed a wage freeze and introduced what became known as " Rae days ", requiring civil servants to take up to twelve days off without pay per year. These measures generated nearly 2 billion dollars in savings for Ontario, without laying off any public sector workers. These cutbacks led to
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#17327802619371936-493: 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
2024-610: The Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio, giving himself a direct voice in future constitutional negotiations. Bob Rae was in power for 1650 days, the longest term unique to an Ontario premier since the Second World War . He became one of the few Ontario premiers who could speak French. He was very popular for his first six months as Premier, with a poll from March 1991 showing the NDP at 52% support. The federal NDP also received 56% support in Ontario in
2112-496: The Ontario New Democratic Party was suffering from internal disunity under the leadership of Michael Cassidy . Cassidy resigned as leader after a poor performance in the 1981 provincial election , and a movement began to draft Rae as his replacement. Rae initially declined a request from a provincial delegation led by Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Dave Cooke , but reconsidered after further entreaties from former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and many others. Eleven of
2200-557: The Privy Council ( PC ), is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, the tenets of responsible government require the sovereign or his viceroy , the governor general of Canada , to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet : a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected members of Parliament . Those summoned to
2288-767: The Rohingya crisis. 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 . Rae was born in Ottawa , Ontario. His parents were Lois Esther (George) and Saul Rae , an eminent Canadian career diplomat who had postings in Washington, Geneva , New York, Mexico, and The Hague. Rae's paternal grandparents immigrated from Scotland , and his mother had English ancestry. Rae
2376-527: The Security Intelligence Review Committee be made privy councillors, if they are not already. To date, only Prime Minister Paul Martin advised that parliamentary secretaries be admitted to the Privy Council. Appointees to the King's Privy Council must recite the requisite oath: I, [name], do solemnly and sincerely swear (declare) that I shall be a true and faithful servant to His Majesty King Charles III , as
2464-646: The TTC Eglinton West subway line in Toronto (even though the official transit plan only recommended a busway for current needs), support for public housing, and the Jobs Ontario job creation program . Rae's decision to approve casino gambling for the province was also opposed by many in the party but it provided a steady source of revenue. Ontario's economic forecast was bleak when Rae took office in October 1990. The Liberal government had forecast
2552-585: The York South constituency. Rae defeated Liberal candidate John Nunziata , a York councillor in a by-election on November 4, 1982. Counting the leadership contest, this was his fifth election in just over four years. The opposition Liberals were led by the inexperienced David Peterson . Many senior NDP strategists believed their party could surpass the Liberals for second place, and Rae and Peterson became frequent rivals for media attention and public support between 1982 and 1985. The NDP took two seats from
2640-829: The Bissell Commission on University Government. As a result of his strong student record, Rae was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford , where he studied at Balliol College, Oxford under Isaiah Berlin . 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
2728-535: The Canadian Cabinet, and other eminent Canadians. These appointments ended under Lester Pearson , though the traditional style remained in use, limited to only prime ministers and chief justices. In 1992, several eminent privy councillors, most of whom were long-retired from active politics, were granted the style by the Governor General and, in 2002, Jean Chrétien recommended that Herb Gray ,
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2816-687: The Canadian Privy Council so as to illustrate the separation between Canada's Crown and that of the UK. The Council has assembled in the presence of the sovereign on two occasions: The first was at 10:00 a.m. on the Thanksgiving Monday of 1957, at the monarch's residence in Ottawa , Rideau Hall . There, Queen Elizabeth II chaired a meeting of 22 of her privy councilors, including her consort , by then titled as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whom Elizabeth had just appointed to
2904-521: The Crown. In addition, the chief justices of Canada and former governors general are appointed. From time to time, the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition and heads of other opposition parties will be appointed to the Privy Council, either as an honour or to facilitate the distribution of sensitive information under the Security of Information Act and, similarly, it is required by law that those on
2992-477: The Home Care and Community Services Act, 1994 to facilitate this. The Harris government subsequently rejected this model for a brokerage model in which Community Care Access Centres would hire a home care provider to service a region rather than provide the service directly and lifted the 10% limit on the use of for-profit service delivery that the Rae government had imposed. The New Democratic Party campaigned on
3080-468: The KPC are appointed for life by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada , meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former Cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence. The Government of Canada , which
3168-469: The Liberal Party leadership, was his roommate for a time. 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 . Rae and Caccia have remained personal friends through their political careers. During his final year as an undergraduate, Rae was a student representative on
3256-530: The Liberal candidate, he received a higher percentage of votes than any other NDP candidate in the province. Notwithstanding its setbacks, the Rae government achieved some positive accomplishments during its time in office. It saved many jobs in northern Ontario through its bailout of Algoma Steel , and negotiated a similar contract for paper mill workers in Kapuskasing . Other popular initiatives included
3344-500: The Liberals in late 1984 by-elections, and polling by Decima Research from this period put them slightly ahead of the Liberals, although still well behind the PCs. The NDP did not make the anticipated gains in the 1985 provincial election held on May 2, 1985. They won 25 seats out of 125, only a modest improvement from their 1981 showing. The Progressive Conservatives lost support after Davis retired and right-wing candidate Frank Miller
3432-437: The Liberals still held a significant lead in opinion polls and all signs indicated that they would win another majority government. Rae later acknowledged that he did not expect to win the election, and planned to leave electoral politics at some point in the next sitting of the legislature. A number of prominent MPPs, including Richard Johnston , Marion Bryden and David Reville , chose not to seek re-election. Floyd Laughren
3520-453: 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
3608-462: The Ontario NDP. On October 5, 1989, however, Rae announced that he would not return to federal politics and would remain as provincial leader. Several of Rae's associates, including Arlene Perly Rae, declared their support for Howard McCurdy , and later moved to Audrey McLaughlin after McCurdy was dropped from the ballot at the leadership convention. Rae declined to endorse a candidate. Rae
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3696-533: The Privy Council at that same meeting. The Queen also approved an order-in-council. Two years later, the Privy Council again met before the Queen, this time in Halifax, Nova Scotia , to confirm the appointment of Georges Vanier as governor general. There was originally some speculation that the coming together of the sovereign and her Council was not constitutionally sound. However, the Prime Minister at
3784-470: The Privy Council convene in 1947 to consent to the marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II ) to Philip Mountbatten , per the Royal Marriages Act 1772 . The Princess' father, King George VI , had offered an invitation for Mackenzie King to attend when the Privy Council of the United Kingdom met for the same purpose. But, the Prime Minister declined and held the meeting of
3872-494: The Privy Council, but have been made members on special occasions, such as the centennial of Confederation in 1967 and the patriation of the constitution of Canada in 1982. On Canada Day in 1992, which also marked the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation , Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn appointed 18 prominent Canadians to the Privy Council, including the former Premier of Ontario David Peterson , retired hockey star Maurice Richard , and businessman Conrad Black (who
3960-468: The Privy Council. The first non-Canadian sworn of the council was Billy Hughes , Prime Minister of Australia , who was inducted on 18 February 1916, at the request of Robert Borden —to honour a visiting head of government, but also so that Hughes could attend Cabinet meetings on wartime policy. Similarly, Winston Churchill , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , was inducted during a visit to Canada on 29 December 1941. Privy councillors are entitled to
4048-479: The Rae government's loss of popularity between 1991 and 1993. The NDP had never governed Ontario before, and Ontario was experiencing its worst recession since the Great Depression . The government backtracked on several campaign promises, most notably the introduction of public auto insurance , which caused disagreements among the party and supporters, especially from members of the progressive wing of
4136-464: The conventional "treaty" laid out in the preamble to the 1931 Statute of Westminster . Following the announcement of the Prince of Wales' engagement to Camilla Parker-Bowles , however, the Department of Justice announced its conclusion that the Privy Council was not required to meet to give its approval to the marriage, as the union would not result in offspring that would impact the succession to
4224-488: The country. He also criticized the 1991 federal budget, arguing the Finance Minister Michael Wilson was shifting the federal debt to the provinces. The Rae government's first budget, introduced in 1991, increased social spending to mitigate the economic slowdown and projected a record deficit of $ 9.1 billion. Finance Minister Floyd Laughren argued that Ontario made a decision to target
4312-460: The day. The quorum for Privy Council meetings is four. The Constitution Act, 1867 , outlines that persons are to be summoned and appointed for life to the King's Privy Council by the governor general, though convention dictates that this be done on the advice of the sitting prime minister. As its function is to provide the vehicle for advising the Crown, the members of the Privy Council are predominantly all living current and former ministers of
4400-570: The defeat of Joe Clark's government six years earlier. With support from Rae, Peterson's minority government implemented socially progressive legislation on matters such as pay equity, brought an end to extra-billing by doctors, and established campaign spending limits. Rae often criticized Peterson's approach to specific issues, but never moved to bring down the government. Rae advocated pension reform in early 1986, following revelations that some corporate leaders in Ontario had been given permission to withdraw money from their employees' pension funds. He
4488-426: The deficit under $ 10 billion, they would demand junk-bond interest rates in order to finance Ontario's debt. Richard Walkom suggested it was a sudden panic of an NDP party aware of the stereotype it could not manage a budget, using the crisis as an opportunity to demonstrate it would use extreme measures in the appropriate circumstances. Regardless of whether Davos visit provided an epiphany, pressure or panic, this event
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#17327802619374576-417: The effects of the recession rather than the deficit, and said that the budget would create or protect 70,000 jobs. It targeted more money to social assistance, social housing and child benefits, and raised taxes for high-income earners while lowering rates for 700,000 low-income Ontarians. In April 1991, the government introduced a one-year program to protect the pay of workers whose firms had shut down due to
4664-541: 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. He worked in labour law during the mid-1970s. Rae was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a 1978 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. He won
4752-425: The global market. Instead of selling more bonds, he was now asking them to "sell Ontario through their global networks", looking to "plug into" them instead of spending government money to control publicly-controlled avenues to investment. This breach between the NDP and the labour movement struck at the party's foundations. The NDP was founded as an alliance between the old Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and
4840-480: The kind long-proposed by the more conservative and business leaders of Ontario. Indeed, [Rae's] speech to the U. of T. students was so emphatic on the importance of making government more efficient and cutting spending that reports, remembering the antagonism between Mr. Rae and business leader Conrad Black , joked that the Premier had gone from being 'Comrade Bob to Conrad Bob' As a result, his government brought in
4928-404: The labour movement, and Rae's policy decisions alienated many traditional NDP voters. Thousands of members resigned from the party, and several unions turned against the NDP and vowed to defeat the government in the next election. The Rae government later attempted to regain labour support by passing Bill 40, a measure which (among other things) introduced anti-scab provisions to the province. This
5016-598: The media, though Rae himself would later write that his words seemed "particularly apt" in retrospect and "certainly aroused an angry response which often means a target has been hit". After Rae won the party leadership, there was a delay of several months before he was able to contest a by-election to enter the Ontario legislature . Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) Jim Renwick , Marion Bryden and Tony Grande all declined to relinquish their seats, before former party leader Donald C. MacDonald agreed to stand down in
5104-509: The monarch's family have been appointed to the Privy Council: Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII ), appointed by his father, King George V , on 2 August 1927; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , appointed by his wife, Queen Elizabeth II , on 14 October 1957; and Prince Charles (now King Charles III ), appointed by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 18 May 2014. On occasion, non-Canadians have been appointed to
5192-409: The party such as cabinet ministers Howard Hampton and Shelley Martel . A number of scandals in cabinet and caucus due to the large number of rookie MPPs also cut into the government's popularity. In the 1993 federal election , the NDP fell to a historic low of 6% support in Ontario. All 10 New Democrat MPs from Ontario lost their seats to Liberal challengers as the Liberals won all but one seat in
5280-410: The party's 21 MPPs endorsed his candidacy , as did much of the labour movement. Rae's supporters in caucus were Marion Bryden , Brian Charlton , Dave Cooke , Odoardo Di Santo , Tony Grande , Donald C. MacDonald , Robert Mackenzie , Elie Martel , Ed Philip , George Samis and Mel Swart . He was the most centrist candidate in the contest, and easily defeated Richard Johnston and Jim Foulds at
5368-400: The policy in 1991. Kormos, who had already been dropped from cabinet, became Rae's most vocal critic in the NDP caucus. Rae's government attempted to introduce a variety of socially progressive measures during its time in office, though its success in this field was mixed. In 1994, the government introduced legislation, Bill 167 , which would have provided for same-sex partnership benefits in
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#17327802619375456-411: The popular vote and only awards power based on the number of ridings won, this decimated the Liberal caucus. The Liberals lost 59 seats, the worst defeat in their history and the second-worst defeat for a governing party in Ontario. The NDP even managed to unseat Peterson in his own riding. On October 1, 1990, Rae was sworn in as the first, and to date the only, NDP Premier of Ontario . He also took
5544-419: The proclamation of a new Canadian sovereign following a demise of the Crown or conferring on royal marriages—will be attended to by more senior officials in the Privy Council, such as the prime minister, the chief justice of Canada , and other senior statesmen; though all privy councillors are invited to such meetings in theory, in practice, the composition of the gathering is determined by the prime minister of
5632-790: The protest, Rae was escorted to a police wagon by members of the Ontario Provincial Police and driven to the nearby town of Elk Lake . He was not charged with an offense. There was considerable speculation that Rae would seek the federal NDP leadership in 1989, after the resignation of Ed Broadbent . High-profile party members such as former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis, Allan Blakeney and Roy Romanow of Saskatchewan , Gary Doer of Manitoba and Alexa McDonough of Nova Scotia all encouraged him to run, as did several representatives of organized labour. Expecting Rae to resign, Bud Wildman , Ruth Grier and Richard Johnston began preparing campaigns to succeed him as leader of
5720-495: The province. At the time, this legislation was seen as a revolutionary step forward for same-sex recognition. It was defeated, however, when twelve NDP MPPs (including two junior ministers) voted against it, while the opposition Liberals led by Lyn McLeod also withdrew their support. King%27s Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada ( French : Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada ), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply
5808-503: The province. Besides many NDP supporters nationwide voting Liberal to ensure that the Conservatives would be defeated (to avoid the vote-splitting of the 1988 election), the Rae government's unpopularity was a major factor in the federal NDP's losses. On the day after the election, defeated MP Steven Langdon called on Rae to resign. Langdon had openly campaigned against Rae's austerity measures. Although he lost by 13,000 votes to
5896-463: The provincial government. His resignation from parliament became effective July 31, 2013. 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
5984-695: The recession. Labour Minister Bob Mackenzie estimated that the plan would help 56,000 workers. Rae claims he faced a true emergency in the spring of 1993 a crisis of government on which he had to act. Upon returning from Davos, Rae gave a speech on 9 February describing international business leaders' despair over government deficits and inefficiencies in Europe, where they stressed "the worldwide trend to redesign organizations, downsizing wherever possible and trying to make their organizations more responsive". Rae left Davos convinced that major changes in Ontario public services were needed, where these changes were of
6072-534: The royal couple with champagne . David Brown, an official in the Privy Council Office, told The Globe and Mail that, had the Privy Council rejected the Prince of Wales' engagement, none of his children would have been considered legitimate heirs to the Canadian throne , thus setting up a potential break in the unified link to the crown of each of the Commonwealth realms , in contradiction to
6160-587: The same year, Rae argued that the Peterson government should reform the Ontario Human Rights Code to include provisions for group defamation and systematic discrimination. Some members of the NDP disapproved of the party's accord with the Liberals. Party activist Ian Orenstein challenged Rae for the provincial leadership in 1986 in a symbolic protest against the party's centrist tilt. Rae won without difficulty. Peterson's minority government
6248-787: The style the Honourable (French: L'honorable ) or, for the prime minister, chief justice, or certain other eminent individuals, the Right Honourable (French: Le très honorable ) and the post-nominal letters PC (in French: CP ). Prior to 1967, the style the Right Honourable was only employed in Canada by those appointed to the Imperial Privy Council in London , such persons usually being prime ministers, Supreme Court chief justices, certain senior members of
6336-537: The task of giving the sovereign and governor general advice (in the construct of constitutional monarchy and responsible government , this is typically binding ) on how to exercise the royal prerogative via orders-in-council rests with the Cabinet—a committee of the Privy Council made up of other ministers of the Crown who are drawn from, and responsible to, the House of Commons in the Parliament . This body
6424-516: The throne. To mark the occasion of her Ruby Jubilee , Queen Elizabeth II, on Canada Day , 1992, presided over the swearing in of new members of her Privy Council. The most recent formal meeting of the Privy Council was on 10 September 2022, for the proclamation of the accession of King Charles III . Jewish Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
6512-410: The time, John Diefenbaker , found no legal impropriety in the idea and desired to create a physical illustration of Elizabeth's position of Queen of Canada being separate to that of Queen of the United Kingdom. A formal meeting of the Privy Council was held in 1981 to give formal consent to the marriage of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III ), to Lady Diana Spencer . According to
6600-429: The troubled Meech Lake Accord for constitutional reform proved a particular liability. There were also signs of an economic downturn by this time and some believed that Peterson had called the snap election to avoid its full impact. The Progressive Conservatives were led by the inexperienced Mike Harris , who ran a narrow campaign focused on tax issues and was unable to capitalize on the Liberal slide. As such, Rae's NDP
6688-578: 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. 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
6776-441: Was also planning to retire, but had not finalized his plans when Peterson dropped the writ . Contrary to expectations, the Liberal Party's support base declined significantly in mid-campaign. The snap election was unpopular, and the Liberals suffered lingering effects from an earlier scandal involving Liberal fundraiser Patti Starr undermined public confidence in the government. Peterson's prominent role in drafting and supporting
6864-484: Was an international observer for Lithuania 's first multi-party elections in early 1990. A lifelong opponent of communism , he later wrote that he was impressed by the spirit of the opposition Sąjūdis party, which won the election. He was also very critical of the Kremlin 's harsh response to the opposition's victory. Peterson called a snap election for 1990 . The NDP entered the campaign with low expectations, as
6952-593: Was chosen as their new leader. However, it was the Liberals rather than the NDP who were able to reposition themselves in the political centre and reap the benefits of this change. Rae nonetheless played a pivotal role in bringing the Progressive Conservative Party's 42-year dynasty to an end. The 1985 election resulted in a minority parliament, in which the Tories held four more seats than David Peterson's Liberals, but were eleven seats short of
7040-406: Was elected 11 times to federal (Broadview, Broadview-Greenwood, Toronto Centre) and provincial (York South) parliaments . 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
7128-480: Was especially critical of Conrad Black , who then held a controlling interest in Dominion Stores Ltd., for withdrawing $ 62 million at a time when many laid off company workers were unable to receive severance pay. During a legislative debate, Rae described Black as "that most symbolic representative of bloated capitalism at its worst". The Liberal government declined to act on the matter. Later in
7216-461: Was later expelled from the Privy Council by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper ). The use of Privy Council appointments as purely an honour was not employed again until 6 February 2006, when Harper advised the Governor General to appoint former member of Parliament John Reynolds , along with the new Cabinet . Harper, on 15 October 2007, also advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to appoint Jim Abbott . Members of
7304-412: Was not enough to bridge the gap with organized labour, however, and the party was unable to regain significant union support. As Premier, Rae placed a cap on enrollment into medical schools. The Rae government also delisted home care from OHIP coverage but introduced a new comprehensive program to deliver the service mostly on a non-profit basis by publicly run, regional multi-service agencies and passed
7392-505: Was prime minister. 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. 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. Upon his marriage to Arlene Perly Rae , Rae agreed to raise three daughters in his wife's Jewish faith. Rae
7480-455: 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. 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
7568-635: 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, replacing Michael Ignatieff ; he served in that position until Justin Trudeau 's election as party leader in early 2013. 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
7656-406: Was the primary beneficiary. Rae himself was more confident than in the 1985 and 1987 campaigns, and took a more aggressive stance against the Peterson government. A poll taken late in the campaign showed the NDP holding a slight lead over the Liberals. The election results were nonetheless a surprise to political observers across the province, even to longtime NDP supporters. The NDP was elected to
7744-543: Was very popular during its two years in office, and the Liberal Party won a landslide majority government in the 1987 provincial election , called after the conclusion of the Liberal-NDP accord. The NDP was reduced to nineteen seats and Rae was nearly defeated in his own riding, defeating high-profile Liberal challenger Alan Tonks by only 333 votes. The Progressive Conservatives under Larry Grossman suffered an even more serious defeat, falling to only sixteen seats. As
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