Editing Ray Perrault

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1926–2008)}}
{{other people|Raymond Perrault}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}
'''Raymond Joseph Perrault''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (February 6, 1926 &ndash; November 24, 2008) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] politician. He was a member of the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]] and of the [[Senate of Canada]].

Perrault was born in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], a family with strong Liberal roots. His maternal grandfather came from Ontario and enlisted to quell the Metis rebellion led by [[Louis Riel]]. His paternal grandfather came from Quebec, where Riel had been a hero. Perrault was educated at Sir Guy Carleton school and [[John Oliver Secondary School|John Oliver high school]] in Vancouver.<ref name=VSun />

After graduating from the [[University of British Columbia]] with degrees in economics and political science, he became a communications consultant, working in radio, public relations and advertising.<ref name=VSun /> He entered politics in his thirties, becoming leader of the [[British Columbia Liberal Party]] in 1959. He was first elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]] in the [[1960 British Columbia general election|1960 provincial election]] in which the Liberals won fours seats in the legislature (an increase from two in the previous election), and won 20.9% of the popular vote.

In the [[1963 British Columbia general election|1963 election]], the Liberals gained one more [[Member of the Legislative Assembly]] (MLA), for a total of five, while their share of the popular vote fell to 19.98%. In Perrault's [[1966 British Columbia general election|final election as leader]] in 1966, the party won an additional seat, and a modest increase in the vote to 20.24%.

He remained an MLA until he resigned in 1968 to enter federal politics in the [[1968 Canadian federal election|1968 federal election]]. He won a seat in the [[House of Commons of Canada]] as a [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP), defeating [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]] leader [[Tommy Douglas]] by just 138 votes, earning him the nickname "Landslide Ray".<ref name=VSun /> He was defeated in the [[1972 Canadian federal election|next election in 1972]].

Perrault was appointed to the Senate by [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Pierre Trudeau]] in October 1973. A year later, he joined the [[Canadian Cabinet|cabinet]] as [[Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Government in the Senate]].

When the Liberals lost power in the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979 election]], Perrault became [[Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition in the Senate]]. He resumed his position as government leader when the Liberals returned to power in the [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980 election]]. In 1982, he was reassigned to the position of [[Minister of State (Canada)|Minister of State]] for Fitness and Amateur Sport, and served in that position until leaving cabinet in August 1983.

He remained in the Senate until his retirement in 2001.

Perrault served on the board of the [[Terry Fox Foundation]]. A lifelong follower of sports, Perrault served as a director of the [[Vancouver Canucks]] and honorary chairman of the [[Vancouver Canadians]] baseball team. In the 1980s, he was part of a failed effort to bring a [[Major League Baseball]] team to Vancouver.<ref name=VSun>{{cite news|title= Former B.C. senator Ray Perrault dies after battle with Parkinson's Disease|author= Doug Ward|url= http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=ab36da5a-1a48-4f30-8849-9e17b931819d|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130808223150/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=ab36da5a-1a48-4f30-8849-9e17b931819d|url-status= dead|archive-date= August 8, 2013|newspaper= [[Vancouver Sun]]|date= November 24, 2008|access-date= 8 August 2013}}</ref>

He died on November 24, 2008, at the age of 82, leaving behind his wife Barbara and their three children.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=7872}}

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| post1years    = 1974–1979
| post1note     =
| post1preceded = [[Paul Martin Sr.]]
| post1followed = [[Jacques Flynn]]
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| post1         = [[Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Government in the Senate]]
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| post1note     =
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| post1followed = [[Bud Olson]]
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{{S-bef|before=[[Jacques Flynn]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada]]|years=1979–1980}}
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{{CA-Leaders of the Government in the Senate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrault, Ray}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:BC United MLAs]]
[[Category:Canadian senators from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Leaders of the opposition in the Senate of Canada]]
[[Category:Communications consultants]]
[[Category:Leaders of BC United]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada senators]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Politicians from Vancouver]]
[[Category:University of British Columbia alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Senate of Canada]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the Senate of Canada]]
[[Category:John Oliver Secondary School alumni]]