Russell Harold Ramsay (August 5, 1928 — February 9, 2003) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1978 to 1985, and was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the government of William Davis. Ramsay was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Background

Ramsay was born in Sault Ste. Marie, and was educated in that city and at Queen's University in Kingston. He became manager of

CJIC-TV CJIC-TV was a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1954 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television. History CJIC began broadcasting on Channel 2 on November 28, 1954, owned by Hyland Bro ...

in 1956, and served as vice-president of

Huron Broadcasting Huron Broadcasting was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, active in Sault Ste. Marie from 1976 to 1990. The company first entered the broadcasting business in 1976, when it acquired the assets of the city's prior Hyland Broadcas ...

. Ramsay was the recipient of a Centennial Medal in 1967, and was named "Man of the Year" by Sault Ste. Marie's

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

in 1969. He was a member of the Sault Ste. Marie city council from January to June 1975. He was married to Margaret with whom he raised five children.

Politics

He campaigned for 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 ...

in the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate George Nixon in

Algoma West Algoma West was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968. It was created in 1903 from parts of Algoma riding. The west riding of Algoma was defined to consist of ...

. In

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

he ran against Liberal Terry Murphy in Sault Ste. Marie and lost again. Ramsay was elected to the Ontario legislature in a

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 ...

held on December 14, 1978. Campaigning in the provincial division of Sault Ste. Marie, he was elected by a comfortable margin over a candidate of 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 ...

. He was re-elected without difficulty in the 1981 provincial election. He was appointed to cabinet as Provincial Secretary for Resources Development on April 10, 1981. He was promoted to

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

on February 13, 1982. Ramsay supported Larry Grossman's to replace Bill Davis as Progressive Conservative leader in February 1985, and was not appointed to the cabinet of

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...

, the successful candidate. He lost to New Democratic Party candidate

Karl Morin-Strom Karl Arvid Morin-Strom (born June 27, 1952) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990 as a member of the New Democratic Party. Background Strom was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont ...

by 1,069 votes in the 1985 provincial election. In 1996, Ramsay ran in a mayoral by-election in Sault Ste. Marie, but was defeated by former federal MP

Steve Butland Steve Butland (born March 26, 1941) is a Canadian politician. He represented the Sault Ste. Marie electoral district in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993 as a member of the New Democratic Party. Butland was born in Sault Ste. Ma ...

Cabinet positions

Later life

In January 1987, he was appointed to the Health Discipline Board and the Denture Therapists Appeal Board. Three months later he was moved to the Industrial Accident Prevention Association. He stayed in that position until 1995 when the board was axed by the

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

administration. Ramsay received the Paul Dalseg Community Achievement Award in 2000. He died in 2003 at a Sault Ste. Marie nursing home, having previously been diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. A boardroom at Sault Ste. Marie's City Hall is named in his honour, as is the street leading to City Hall. In 2009, Ramsay was selected for induction into the

Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame The Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame is a series of markers located throughout downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The Walk of Fame is a joint project between the city of Sault Ste. Marie and its Downtown Association ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Russ 1928 births 2003 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Ontario Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario city councillors Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Queen's University at Kingston alumni