Bob Rae

A bilingual lawyer, Bob Rae was a federal NDP member of parliament before he switched to provincial politics and became Leader of the Ontario NDP. As the first NDP Premier of Ontario Bob Rae tried to run a middle of the road government, and managed to alienate all sides. A deep recession and soaring Ontario deficits did not help his popularity. The NDP was turfed from government in Ontario in 1995. Bob Rae resigned as Ontario NDP leader and MPP for York South in 1996.

Bob Rae continued to be active in public life, taking on issues as diverse as post-secondary education in Ontario, the Red Cross tainted blood issue, the fishing conflict in Burnt Church, New Brunswick, constitutional issues in Sri Lanka and Iraq, and the Air India Inquiry. Gradually becoming disaffected with the New Democratic Party, Bob Rae switched his allegiance to the Liberal Party in 2006 and immediately joined the race for the Liberal leadership. Although defeated in his first bid to be Liberal leader, Bob Rae served as Liberal critic on foreign affairs and was elected to the House of Commons in March 2008.

At the beginning of December 2008, Bob Rae officially filed papers to enter the Liberal leadership race to replace Stéphane Dion. When a crisis in parliament brought the possibility of an election close, Dominic LeBlanc and Bob Rae withdrew from the leadership race so the Liberal Party could resolve the leadership issue quickly. Michael Ignatieff was named interim leader of the Liberal Party, with ratification by the full party membership to follow at a convention in 2009.

1990 to 1995

August 2, 1948 in Ottawa, Ontario

• LLB - University of Toronto
• BPhil (Rhodes Scholar) - Oxford University

• Lawyer
• Public policy advisor
• Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University
• Adjunt professor at the University of Toronto

• Federal New Democratic Party
• Ontario New Democratic Party
• Liberal Party of Canada

Federal Ridings

• Broadview (1978-79)
• Broadview-Greenwood (1979-82)
• Toronto Centre (2008 to present)

• York South (1982-96)

• Bob Rae was first elected to the House of Commons as a New Democratic Party MP in 1978. He became finance critic for the NDP.

• In 1982 he was elected leader of the Ontario NDP and resigned as a federal MP.

• Bob Rae was elected to the Ontario Legislative Assembly later in 1982.

• In 1985, Ontario Premier Bill Davis retired. Although the Progressive Conservatives won two more seats than the Liberals in the 1985 Ontario election, the Liberals took Bob Rae up on his offer of NDP support in exchange for enactment of a list of NDP policies and David Peterson became Premier. In 1987 the Liberals won a large majority and Bob Rae became Leader of the Official Opposition.

• In the 1990 Ontario election, the NDP won a majority government. Bob Rae was sworn in as the first NDP Premier of Ontario.

• In his efforts to run a middle course as premier, Bob Rae managed to alienate all sides. His biggest problems were a deep recession and huge Ontario deficits.

• In the 1995 Ontario election, the NDP were defeated by Mike Harris and the Progressive Conservatives.

• In 1996 Bob Rae resigned as NDP Leader and as MPP for York South.

• Bob Rae continued an active role in public policy, including work on the Security Intelligence Review Committee, as a board member of the Institute of Research on Public Policy and advising the federal Liberal government on the Air India disaster.

• By 2002 Bob Rae had become openly critical of the NDP, especially of the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel stand taken by Svend Robinson, then NDP foreign policy critic.

• In April 2006, Bob Rae applied for membership in the Liberal Party, and shortly afterwards entered the race for the federal Liberal Party leadership. He was defeated by Stéphane Dion.

• Later in 2006, Bob Rae was appointed co-chair of the Election Policy Platform Committee for the Liberal Party of Canada.

• Although he did not have a seat in the House, Bob Rae was appointed Liberal critic on foreign affairs and led the Liberal response to Canada's role in Afghanistan.

• Bob Rae was elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal in the riding of Toronto Centre in March 2008.

• Although Bob Rae joined the Liberal leadership race in December 2008, events were soon taken over by a crisis in parliament. Bob Rae withdrew from the leadership race so the Liberal Party could resolve the leadership issue quickly.Michael Ignatieff was named interim leader of the Liberal Party.

• Bob Rae again took over the role of Liberal foreign affairs critic in January 2009.