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78-479: The OMA was founded in 1880 by physicians across the province of Ontario who encouraged the profession to unite and form a provincial medical association. The OMA is governed by a board of directors. The board is made up of 11 directors: eight physician directors and three non-physician directors. The officers of the board are the chair, president, president-elect and the immediate past president. The president-elect and immediate past president are non-voting observers on

156-406: 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

234-403: 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

312-599: 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

390-516: 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 was prime minister. Rae's younger brother, David, was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1987. Despite

468-414: 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

546-737: 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

624-461: A major party, receiving more than 1,000 votes in the election, are listed below: Tony Rizzo (NDP) became an independent MPP on October 10, 1990, after questions were raised about labour practices in his bricklaying firms. He would later rejoin the NDP caucus. Dennis Drainville (NDP) became an independent MPP on April 28, 1993, as a protest against the Rae government's plans to introduce casinos to

702-401: 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

780-532: 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

858-803: 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. 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

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936-430: A pivotal role in documenting the achievements of Ontario's physicians and providing thoughtful, in-depth stories about the challenges facing the province's health-care system for more than 100 years. Published quarterly and delivered to 39,000 physicians, the magazine reaches family doctors, specialists and residents, as well as medical students, in every corner of the province. It is a vital source of information about how

1014-406: 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

1092-592: 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

1170-558: 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

1248-514: 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

1326-635: 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 was elected 11 times to federal (Broadview, Broadview-Greenwood, Toronto Centre) and provincial (York South) parliaments . Rae

1404-682: 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

1482-712: 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

1560-573: Is one of the oldest and most trusted medical publications in Canada. Today's OMR continues the tradition of being a vital conduit to the experience of Ontario physicians on the front lines of medicine, where they are working hard every day to meet their patients’ needs and lay the groundwork for a better health-care system. The OMA engages in fundraising and philanthropy through the Ontario Medical Foundation (OMF). Starting in 2018,

1638-514: 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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1716-591: 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 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

1794-612: 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

1872-507: The New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Bob Rae , won a majority government. This marked the first time the NDP had won government east of Manitoba , and to date the only time the NDP formed the government in Ontario. Not even the NDP expected to come close to winning power. Rae had already made plans to retire from politics after the election; however, the NDP managed to take many seats in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) from

1950-592: 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

2028-587: 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

2106-832: 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

2184-478: 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

2262-408: 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

2340-531: 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

2418-500: 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

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2496-438: 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

2574-468: The Liberals, and Rae himself represented York South , in Metro Toronto . They also did better than ever before, or in some cases since, in many other cities and rural areas. The NDP finished only five points ahead of the Liberals in the popular vote, but due to the nature of the first-past-the-post electoral system, which ignores the popular vote and awards power based on the number of ridings won,

2652-527: The NDP nomination over former MP John Paul Harney and activist Kay Macpherson. He won 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

2730-563: The NDP's gains in the GTA decimated the Liberal caucus. The Liberals lost 59 seats, the second-worst defeat for a governing party in Ontario. At the time, it was the Liberals' worst showing in an Ontario election. Peterson himself was heavily defeated in London Centre by NDP challenger Marion Boyd , losing by 8,200 votes, one of the few times a provincial premier has lost their own seat. Although Mike Harris ' Progressive Conservative Party

2808-713: The OMF began a transformation to dedicate more time and funds to charitable causes beyond its community of members. The OMF has received donations and sponsorships from over 7000 sponsors including individuals, corporations and societies. Some of the foundation's largest donors are Amgen , AstraZeneca , Bayer , the Canadian Medical Association , GlaxoSmithKline , KPMG , Merck Frosst , Pfizer Canada , Pharmacia , Royal Bank of Canada and Sun Life Financial . Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae PC CC OOnt KC (born August 2, 1948)

2886-623: The Ontario Medical Association is advocating for health-system modernization and improved care for Ontario patients. Recent stories showcasing physician expertise include an article on how OMA health-care advocates affect system change, tackling physician burnout to narrowing the gender pay gap in medicine. First launched as the Bulletin in 1922 and renamed the Ontario Medical Review in 1943, the magazine

2964-463: 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

3042-611: The Progressive Conservatives in the Renfrew North and Cornwall ridings in eastern Ontario. Although they received only 1.9% of the vote provincewide, they managed 7.8% in the 33 ridings in which they actually fielded a candidate. The Green Party of Ontario placed third, ahead of the NDP, in Parry Sound riding, where former Liberal leadership candidate Richard Thomas was the party's candidate. Before

3120-479: 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

3198-601: The board. The General Assembly is another large member body that collects member input to help identify and recommend organizational priorities to the board, including opportunities and challenges facing the profession. The General Assembly is composed of the General Assembly steering committee, the Priority and Leadership Group, the three panels and working groups. The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) represents more than 43,000 physicians and medical students across

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3276-491: 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

3354-573: 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

3432-426: 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

3510-418: 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

3588-522: The election, an Act was passed, changing the name of Prince Edward—Lennox to Prince Edward—Lennox—South Hastings . Party designations are as follows: Two-tone colour boxes indicate ridings that turned over from the 1987 election, eg: Of the 130 seats, 20 were open because of MPPs who chose not to stand for reelection, and voters in 63 seats changed allegiance from the previous election in 1987. The following seats changed allegiance from 1987: Those candidates not belonging to

3666-505: 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

3744-426: 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

3822-481: 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

3900-404: 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

3978-599: 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

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4056-410: 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

4134-411: 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

4212-400: 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

4290-414: 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

4368-792: 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

4446-431: 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. 1990 Ontario general election David Peterson Liberal Bob Rae New Democratic The 1990 Ontario general election

4524-503: 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

4602-596: The province. He later resigned his seat in the legislature, resulting in a by-election. Will Ferguson (NDP) became an independent MPP on April 30, 1993, following accusations relating to the Grandview scandal. He later rejoined the NDP caucus on June 21, 1994, having been cleared of all charges. John Sola (L) became an independent MPP on May 11, 1993, after making comments about Canadian Serbs that most regarded as racist. Peter North (NDP) became an independent MPP on October 27, 1993, claiming he had lost confidence in

4680-471: The province. While membership is voluntary, as of 1991, all practicing physicians in Ontario are mandated by law to pay dues to the organization, regardless of whether or not they choose to be members. The Ministry of Health recognizes the organization as the sole negotiator on behalf of physicians in Ontario and has been called a union by Bob Rae , a claim rejected by the OMA. The Ontario Medical Review has played

4758-696: 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

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4836-532: The same period Rae was in Ottawa, 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

4914-590: 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

4992-477: 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

5070-430: 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

5148-466: 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

5226-579: 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

5304-441: 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

5382-486: 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

5460-456: 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 was raised as an Anglican. As an adult, he found out that his paternal grandfather was Jewish and was from

5538-593: 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

5616-598: Was elected to parliament for 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

5694-481: 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

5772-402: Was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario , Canada. The governing Ontario Liberal Party led by Premier David Peterson was unexpectedly defeated. Although the Peterson government, and Peterson himself, were very popular, he was accused of opportunism in calling an election just three years into his mandate. In a shocking upset,

5850-414: 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

5928-408: 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

6006-501: Was unable to overcome voter distrust of the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney , his party managed to make a net gain of four seats. Although Harris was from northern Ontario, the Tories were particularly weak in that region, placing fourth, behind the Liberals, NDP, and the right-wing Confederation of Regions Party (CoR) in six northern Ontario ridings (Algoma, Cochrane South, Nickel Belt, Sudbury, Sudbury East, and Sault Ste. Marie). The CoR also placed ahead of

6084-543: 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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