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

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, 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

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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

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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

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in the

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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: * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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