David Ramsay (Ontario politician) facts for kids

David James Ramsay (born April 23, 1948 – died July 29, 2020) was a Canadian politician from Ontario. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, which is like Ontario's parliament. He was first elected in 1985 as a New Democrat. A year later, he joined the Liberal party.

He represented areas in northern Ontario. From 1985 to 1999, he represented Timiskaming. From 1999 to 2011, he represented Timiskaming—Cochrane. David Ramsay also served as a cabinet minister in the governments led by David Peterson and Dalton McGuinty. A cabinet minister is a politician who is in charge of a specific government department.

About David Ramsay

David Ramsay was born in Australia. When he was one year old, he moved to Canada with his parents after being adopted in Sydney. He grew up in Oakville, Ontario.

He studied at Concordia University in Montreal. After finishing university, he worked as a farmer in New Liskeard. He also worked as a clerk-treasurer in Casey Township.

Before becoming a politician, he was involved in his community. He was the president of the Timiskaming Federation of Agriculture. He also helped start the Timiskaming Grain Growers Board. For a time, he was the head of the Timiskaming Hospital Board. David Ramsay passed away in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2020 when he was 72 years old.

Political Journey

Starting as a New Democrat

In the 1985 provincial election, David Ramsay ran for office. He was a candidate for the New Democrats in the northern Ontario area called Timiskaming.

He won against the person who was already in office, Ed Havrot, by a lot of votes. At that time, the Progressive Conservative party was losing support in northern Ontario. After being elected, David Ramsay spoke for his party on topics like small businesses and agriculture.

Joining the Liberals

On October 6, 1986, David Ramsay made a big change. He decided to leave the New Democrats and join the Liberal party. This is called "crossing the floor" in politics. He said he did this because northern Ontario needed more say in the government. He also felt that the New Democrat leaders in Toronto didn't understand people in his rural area.

Even though the New Democrats tried hard to defeat him in the 1987 election, David Ramsay won again. On September 29, 1987, he became a cabinet minister. He was named the Minister of Correctional Services in David Peterson's government.

Later, on August 2, 1989, he became the Minister of Agriculture and Food. David Ramsay kept his seat in the 1990 election. In this election, the Liberal government lost, and the New Democrats, his former party, came into power.

In 1992, he ran to become the leader of the Liberal Party. This was at the 1992 Liberal leadership convention. He was one of six candidates, but he placed last. During his campaign, he talked about lowering taxes. He also supported allowing stores to be open on Sundays and letting corner stores sell beer and wine.

In the provincial elections of 1995 and 1999, his main competition was from the Progressive Conservatives. He won both of these elections by a clear margin. From 1993 to 1994, and again from 1999 to 2003, he was the chair of the Liberal party's group of elected members.

When the Liberals won the 2003 election under Dalton McGuinty, David Ramsay returned to the cabinet. On October 23, 2003, he became the Minister of Natural Resources. In 2005, he also became responsible for Aboriginal Affairs. In June 2007, he was appointed Ontario's first official Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

In the 2007 provincial election, David Ramsay won his seat again. He won by a small number of votes against the New Democrat candidate, John Vanthof. He expected to stay a minister, but he was not chosen for a cabinet role. Instead, he became a special assistant to Premier McGuinty.

In January 2011, David Ramsay announced that he was retiring from politics. He did not run in the 2011 election.

Cabinet Roles

David Ramsay held several important roles as a cabinet minister: