Raymond John Skelly (July 1, 1941 – July 14, 2019) 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. A teacher by profession, Skelly was first elected as the

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 ...

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 ...

for

Comox—Powell River Comox—Powell River was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988. This riding was created in 1976 from parts of Coast Chilcotin, Comox–Alberni and ...

in the 1979 federal election. He served for fourteen years until being defeated in the 1993 federal election in the renamed riding of

North Island—Powell River North Island—Powell River is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997, and again from 2015 onward. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Com ...

. This defeat was partly in response to the electorate's dissatisfaction with the provincial government led by New Democratic Party Premier

Mike Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt, OC (born January 6, 1943) served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of Vancouver, BC's largest city, from 1980 to 1986. Early life and education Harcourt was ...

. As a result, 15 of 17 incumbent New Democratic Party parliamentarians failed in their re-election bids in 1993. During his time in Parliament, Skelly served as critic on several portfolios of particular concern to his constituents including economic development in Western Canada, fisheries, and mines & energy. He attempted a comeback in the 2000 federal election in

Cariboo—Chilcotin Cariboo—Chilcotin was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons from 1979 to 2003. Geography It consisted initially of: * ...

but was defeated. He is the brother of fellow politician

Bob Skelly Robert Evan Skelly (14 April 1943 – 6 August 2022) was a Canadian politician from British Columbia. Skelly was born 14 April 1943, at New Westminster, British Columbia. The son of Robert Daniel Skelly and Dorothy Graham, he was educated a ...

, who served in 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 led the

British Columbia New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social-democratic provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. As of 2017, it governs the province. It is the British Columbia provincial arm of the federal New Democrati ...

. In the 1988 federal election, Ray and Bob pulled off a rare feat with both elected to the 34th Parliament and are the most recent siblings to have served in Parliament together.

References

Sources

* 1941 births 2019 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia New Democratic Party MPs {{BritishColumbia-politician-stub, Skelly, Ray