Bob Rae

Over a career that has spanned three decades, including serving as Ontario’s 21st Premier from 1990 to 1995, Bob Rae has worked at the highest levels of government in Canada, and has been elected eleven times to federal and provincial parliaments.

From 1996 to 2007, he worked as a partner in the law firm, Goodmans LLP, one of Canada’s leading international law firms. His clients included companies, trade unions, charitable and non-governmental organizations, and governments themselves.

During this period, Bob Rae was appointed a special advisor to the Canadian Minister of Public Safety on the Air India bombing of 1985. His report, Lessons to be Learned was published in November of 2005.

He also completed a review of Ontario’s Postsecondary School Education for the Ontario Provincial government. The resulting 2005 report entitled Ontario: A Leader in Learning led to significant policy and budgetary changes.

Bob Rae has proudly served the people of Toronto Centre in Ottawa as their Member of Parliament since March 2008, and was twice named “Best Orator” by Macleans Magazine in its annual survey of parliamentarians.

Until recently, he served as Foreign Affairs Critic for the Liberal Party of Canada. In June 2011, he became interim Liberal Leader.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Bob Rae has a B.A. and an LLB from the University of Toronto and was a Rhodes Scholar from Ontario in 1969. He obtained a B.Phil degree from Oxford University in 1971 and was named a Queen’s Counsel in 1984.

Bob Rae lives in Toronto with his wife Arlene Perly Rae. He and Arlene have three daughters, Judith, Lisa and Eleanor.

He has written four books, published by McClelland & Stewart:

•From Protest to Power: Reflections on a Life in Politics (1997)

•The Three Questions: Prosperity and the Public Good (1999)

•Canada in the Balance (2006)

•Exporting Democracy: The Risks and Rewards of Pursuing a Good Idea (2010)

A former chairman of the Royal Conservatory and Toronto Symphony, Bob Rae is an avid music lover. He enjoys playing tennis and golfing, and is happiest when out fishing on the lake at his cottage near Portland, Ontario.

Bob Rae was appointed to Her Majesty’s Privy Council for Canada in 1998, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Ontario in 2004.

He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards from Canadian and foreign universities, colleges, and organizations.