Russell Harold Ramsay (August 5, 1928 — February 9, 2003) was a politician in
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. He served in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
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', ' p ...
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 in 1956, and served as vice-president of
Huron Broadcasting. 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 club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
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 () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
in the
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First 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 Lynd ...
and lost to
Liberal candidate
George Nixon in
Algoma West.
In
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
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, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
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; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
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* The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
. 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,. He lost to New Democratic Party candidate
Karl Morin-Strom 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.
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 retired Canadian 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. Taking the PC ...
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 neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
.
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.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Russ
1928 births
2003 deaths
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Canada
Neurological disease deaths in Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario city councillors
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
20th-century Canadian municipal councillors