Russ Ramsay

Russell Harold Ramsay (August 5, 1928 — February 9, 2003) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1978 to 1985, and was a cabinet minister in the government of William Davis. Ramsay was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Russ Ramsay
Ontario MPP
In office
1978–1985
Preceded byJohn Rhodes
Succeeded byKarl Morin-Strom
ConstituencySault Ste. Marie
Personal details
Born(1928-08-05)August 5, 1928
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
DiedFebruary 9, 2003(2003-02-09) (aged 74)
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouse(s)Margaret
Children5
OccupationRadio station manager

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 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 in the 1965 and lost to Liberal candidate George Nixon in Algoma West.[1] In 1968 he ran against Liberal Terry Murphy in Sault Ste. Marie and lost again.[2]

Ramsay was elected to the Ontario legislature in a by-election 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.[3] He was re-elected without difficulty in the 1981 provincial election.[4] He was appointed to cabinet as Provincial Secretary for Resources Development on April 10, 1981.[5] He was promoted to Minister of Labour on February 13, 1982.[6]

Ramsay supported Larry Grossman's to replace Bill Davis as Progressive Conservative leader in February 1985,[7] and was not appointed to the cabinet of Frank Miller, the successful candidate. He lost to New Democratic Party candidate Karl Morin-Strom by 1,069 votes in the 1985 provincial election.[8] In 1996, Ramsay ran in a mayoral by-election in Sault Ste. Marie, but was defeated by former federal MP Steve Butland.

Cabinet positions
Ontario provincial government of Bill Davis
Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Robert Elgie Minister of Labour
1982–1985		 Robert Elgie
René Brunelle Provincial Secretary for Resources Development
1981–1982		 Lorne Henderson

Later life

In January 1987, he was appointed to the Health Discipline Board and the Denture Therapists Appeal Board.[9] Three months later he was moved to the Industrial Accident Prevention Association.[10] He stayed in that position until 1995 when the board was axed by the Mike Harris administration.[11]

Ramsay received the Paul Dalseg Community Achievement Award in 2000.[12] He died in 2003 at a Sault Ste. Marie nursing home, having previously been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[13] 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
  1. "Results in political ridings across the nation in Canada's federal election". The Globe and Mail. November 9, 1965. p. 10.
  2. "Results from parliamentary constituencies across the country, riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 26, 1968. pp. 10–11.
  3. Oziewicz, Stan (December 15, 1978). "Easy Tory victory in Soo by-election called vote of confidence by Davis". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  4. Canadian Press (March 20, 1981). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22.
  5. Speirs, Rosemary (April 10, 1981). "Norton gets Environment as Davis shuffles Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  6. Stead, Sylvia; Speirs, Rosemary; Matas, Robert (February 13, 1982). "Grossman to Health Ontario Cabinet shuffled by Davis". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  7. The Globe and Mail, 25 January 1985.
  8. "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  9. Sheppard, Robert (January 2, 1987). "Ontario Grits build network with patronage". The Globe and Mail. p. A4.
  10. "For the record... New Chairman". The Globe and Mail. March 10, 1987. p. A17.
  11. "Why axe the agency?". Toronto Star. August 26, 1995. p. B2.
  12. "Chamber Awards". City of Sault Ste. Marie, Chamber of Commerce. November 3, 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2002.
  13. "A former provincial cabinet minister has died". Broadcast News. February 10, 2003.
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