Ralph Ferguson facts for kids

Ralph Ferguson (September 13, 1929 – August 30, 2020) was a Canadian farmer and politician. He was a member of the King's Privy Council for Canada, a special group of people who advise the King or Queen. Ferguson was known for his work in farming and for serving as a Member of Parliament.

A Life in Farming

Ralph Ferguson grew up as a farmer in southwestern Ontario, Canada. He was very involved in the farming community. He helped start the Lambton Pork Producers Association. This group worked to support pig farmers in the area. In the late 1950s, he also led the Lambton County Egg Producers. This shows he cared deeply about agriculture and helping other farmers.

Entering Canadian Politics

Ferguson decided to get involved in politics to help his community even more. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1980 federal election. He became a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liberal Party. An MP is a person elected to represent a specific area in the Canadian government. His riding, or area, was called Lambton--Middlesex.

Roles in Government

During his time as an MP, Ralph Ferguson held several important jobs:

• From 1980 to 1982, he was a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of State for Small Businesses and Tourism. A parliamentary secretary helps a minister with their duties.
• From 1982 to 1984, he was the Deputy Government Whip. The Whip makes sure that members of their political party vote together on important issues.
• From March to June 1984, he was parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance. This minister is in charge of the country's money matters.

Minister of Agriculture

In 1984, John Turner became the new Prime Minister of Canada. He chose Ralph Ferguson to be the Minister of Agriculture. This meant Ferguson was in charge of all farming and food policies for the entire country. It was a very important job for someone who had spent his life in agriculture. However, his time as minister was short. He and the government lost the election later that year.

Contributions and Retirement

Even when he was not a minister, Ferguson worked hard as a backbench MP. A backbencher is an MP who is not a minister. He traveled on several trade missions. These trips helped Canada sell more farm products to other countries. He also helped create the Canadian Agricultural Export Corporation, or CANAGREX. This organization was set up to boost Canadian farm exports.

As Minister of Agriculture, he started the first controlled environment seed bank. A seed bank stores seeds to protect different types of plants for the future. This helps make sure we always have a variety of crops.

Ferguson was re-elected in 1988. He strongly opposed the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. This agreement aimed to make trade easier between Canada and the United States. In 1993, he decided not to run for election again. He chose to retire from politics and return to his farm. He was very active in the conservation and environmental causes. He also supported renewable energy, which is power from natural sources like the sun or wind.

Ralph Ferguson passed away on August 30, 2020, at the age of 90.