Raymond Simard, (born March 8, 1958) is a politician from

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He was a member of 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 ...

from 2002 to 2008, representing the riding of

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

for the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. Simard was born in Ste. Anne, Manitoba. He holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the College universitaire de Saint-Boniface, as well as a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Ron Duhamel Ronald J. Duhamel, (March 2, 1938 – September 30, 2002) was a Canadian Member of Parliament and Senator. Biography Ronald Duhamel was born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Lakehead University and a ...

was appointed to 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 ...

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 ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

. Simard was selected as the Liberal candidate for the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, and on May 13, 2002, he defeated

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

candidate Denis Simard by about 4400 votes. In parliament, Simard has expressed a special interest in matters relating to

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

concerns in Canada. His riding is one of the few in western Canada with a significant francophone population (16% list French as their mother tongue, according to the 2001 Canadian

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

), and the only such riding which regularly elects francophone candidates to parliament. In his private business life, Simard was responsible for opening the first bilingual services centre in Canada. Simard was re-elected in the 2004 federal election, defeating

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Ken Cooper by about 6,000 votes. On July 20, 2004, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Internal Trade,

Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

, and Minister responsible for Official Languages with responsibility for Official Languages and Democratic Reform. In the 2006 federal election, Simard's third election in the federal riding of Saint-Boniface, Simard defeated for a second time

Ken Cooper however by far fewer votes than previous years. In the same year, Simard was appointed

Deputy Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...

of Her Majesty's loyal opposition (Canada). Simard endorsed

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

in the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. In 2007, Simard was appointed critic of Western Economic Development of her Majesty's loyal opposition. Simard was defeated by

candidate

Shelly Glover Shelly A. Glover, Queen's Privy Council for Canada, PC (born January 2, 1967) is a former member of the Winnipeg Police Service and former politician. Following the 2008 Canadian federal election, 2008 federal election, she became the first poli ...

in the 2008 federal election. He ran again in the 2011 election losing to Glover.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simard, Raymond 1958 births University of Manitoba alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Franco-Manitoban people Living people People from Saint Boniface, Winnipeg People from Ste. Anne, Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg 21st-century Canadian politicians