Larry W. Smith, CQ (born April 28, 1951) is a Canadian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

, businessperson and member 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 ...

. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from April 2017 until November 2019.

Education

Smith graduated from

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain ...

with a bachelor's degree in economics. He was the first overall selection of the

1972 CFL Draft The 1972 CFL Draft composed of nine rounds where 70 Canadian football players that were chosen exclusively from eligible Canadian universities. The Montreal Alouettes, who had the worst record in the Eastern Conference in the previous season, ha ...

and went on to play nine seasons in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

, all of them as a running back with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

. Smith earned a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cam ...

from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

in 1976, having undertaken his studies for law while playing pro football.

Football management career

Smith became the Canadian Football League's eighth commissioner in 1992 and oversaw the league's ill-fated attempt to expand to the United States. Smith then oversaw the re-location of the

Baltimore Stallions The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, where they became the

for the CFL's 1996 season. After resigning as commissioner in 1997, Smith served as president of the Alouettes until 2001 and again from 2004 to 2010.

Business career

Smith was president and publisher of the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of t ...

'' newspaper from 2002 to 2004. He has also held positions with Industrial Life Technical Services, John Labatt, Ltd., and Ogilvie Mills, Ltd.

Political career

Smith considered running for leader of the then new

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...

in 2004 and was widely reported by Canadian press at the time to be on the verge of entering the race before finally declaring he would not be a candidate. On December 18, 2010, Smith was summoned to the

Canadian Senate 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 Br ...

on the advice of Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

and sat as a Conservative. Following his appointment to the Senate, Smith announced his intention to seek the nomination to run as a Conservative candidate in

Lac-Saint-Louis Lac-Saint-Louis is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Its population was 108,579 at the 2016 Canadian Census. Geography The district includes the Cities of Be ...

in the next federal election. When asked in a television interview why he accepted the appointment while intending to run for a

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

seat, Smith complained that he was taking a "dramatic, catastrophic" pay cut by serving as a senator, a remark for which Smith has been criticized. Smith was defeated in his attempt to enter Parliament, placing third behind the incumbent Liberal MP and the NDP candidate, and it was announced on May 18, 2011, he would be re-appointed to the Senate. The Conservative Senate Caucus elected Smith its leader on March 28, 2017; Smith defeated Senators

Linda Frum Linda Frum (born January 13, 1963) is a Canadian author and journalist, and was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada from 2009 until 2021. She has announced her intention to retire from the Senate effective August 27, 2021 to devote mor ...

and Stephen Greene for the position, and took office on April 1, 2017. He served until November 5, 2019, when he was succeeded by

Don Plett Donald Neil Plett (born May 14, 1950) is a Canadian senator who has served as the leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate since November 5, 2019. He is the founding president of the National Council of the Conservative Party of Canada an ...

. On August 4, 2022, Smith left the Conservative caucus to join the Canadian Senators Group. Smith clarified that he would remain a member of the Conservative Party.

Personal life

Smith has two sons and a daughter. One of his sons,

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

, is a former receiver for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

and the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

, and the first Bachelor Canada, while his daughter, Ashley, was formerly married to CFL

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. S ...

and punter

Damon Duval Damon Duval (born April 3, 1980) is an American former professional placekicker and punter. Duval played college football for Auburn University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He played professionally for the Jacksonville Jagu ...

References

External links

Official bio on Alouettes websiteParliamentary biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Larry 1951 births Canadian Football League commissioners Canadian football running backs Montreal Alouettes players Montreal Alouettes team presidents Canadian sportsperson-politicians Canadian sports businesspeople Living people People from Montérégie Anglophone Quebec people Bishop's Gaiters football players Businesspeople from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from Quebec Players of Canadian football from Quebec Bishop's University alumni Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament McGill University Faculty of Law alumni