Raymond Joseph Perrault, (February 6, 1926 – November 24, 2008) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

and of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. Perrault was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

a family with strong Liberal roots. His maternal grandfather came from Ontario and enlisted to quell the Metis rebellion led by

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

. His paternal grandfather came from Quebec, where Riel had been a hero. Perrault was educated at Sir Guy Carleton school and John Oliver high school in Vancouver. After graduating from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

with degrees in economics and political science, he became a communications consultant, working in radio, public relations and advertising. He entered politics in his thirties, becoming leader of the

British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 Br ...

in 1959. He was first elected to the

in the 1960 provincial election in which the Liberals won fours seats in the legislature (an increase from two in the previous election), and won 20.9% of the popular vote. In the 1963 election, the Liberals gained one more

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA), for a total of five, while their share of the popular vote fell to 19.98%. In Perrault's final election as leader in 1966, the party won an additional seat, and a modest increase in the vote to 20.24%. He remained an MLA until he resigned in 1968 to enter federal politics in the 1968 federal election. He won a seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a

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Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), defeating

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

leader

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...

by just 138 votes, earning him the nickname "Landslide Ray". He was defeated in the next election in 1972. Perrault was appointed to the Senate by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

in October 1973. A year later, he joined the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

as Leader of the Government in the Senate. When the Liberals lost power in the 1979 election, Perrault became Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He resumed his position as government leader when the Liberals returned to power in the 1980 election. In 1982, he was reassigned to the position of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for Fitness and Amateur Sport, and served in that position until leaving cabinet in August 1983. He remained in the Senate until his retirement in 2001. Perrault served on the board of the

Terry Fox Foundation The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope. The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Sharp ...

. A lifelong follower of sports, Perrault served as a director of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

and honorary chairman of the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

baseball team. In the 1980s, he was part of a failed effort to bring a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

team to Vancouver. He died on November 24, 2008 at the age of 82, leaving behind his wife Barbara and their three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrault, Ray 1926 births 2008 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Canadian senators from British Columbia Communications consultants Leaders of the British Columbia Liberal Party Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Vancouver University of British Columbia alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians