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Larry Smith (Canadian politician)

Canadian politician

Summary

Canadian politician

Field	Value
honorific-prefix	The Honourable
name	Larry Smith
honorific-suffix	CQ
image	Larry_Smith.png
office	Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
primeminister	Justin Trudeau
predecessor	Claude Carignan
successor	Don Plett
term_start	April 1, 2017
term_end	November 5, 2019
office1	Senator from Quebec (Saurel)
nominator1	Stephen Harper
appointed1	David Johnston
term_start1	May 25, 2011
predecessor1	Himself
nominator2	Stephen Harper
appointed2	David Johnston
term_start2	December 18, 2010
term_end2	March 25, 2011
predecessor2	Jean Lapointe
successor2	Himself
birth_date
birth_place	Hudson, Quebec, Canada
profession	Athlete, businessman
spouse	Leesa
otherparty	Canadian Senators Group (2022–2025)
party	Conservative (2004–2022, 2025–present)
children	Brad, Wes, Ashley
residence	Hudson, Quebec, Canada
alma_mater	Bishop's University (B.A.)
McGill University (B.C.L.)
module	{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography
embed	yes
name	Larry Smith
status	Retired
import	no
position1	Running back
College	Bishop's
CFLDraftedYear	1972
CFLDraftedRound	1
CFLDraftedPick	1
playing_years1	1972–1980
playing_team1	Montreal Alouettes
CFHOF	larry-smith
CFHOFYear	2023

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable | honorific-suffix = CQ McGill University (B.C.L.)

2× Grey Cup champion (1974, 1977)

Larry W. Smith, CQ (born April 28, 1951) is a Canadian athlete, businessperson and member of the Senate of Canada. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from April 2017 until November 2019.

Education

Smith graduated from Bishop's University with a bachelor's degree in economics. He was the first overall selection of the 1972 CFL draft and went on to play nine seasons in the Canadian Football League, all of them as a running back with the Montreal Alouettes. Smith earned a Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University in 1976, having undertaken his studies for law while playing pro football.

Football management career

Smith became the Canadian Football League's eighth commissioner in 1992 and oversaw the league's ill-fated attempt to expand to the United States. Smith then oversaw the re-location of the Baltimore Stallions to Montreal, where they became the Montreal Alouettes for the CFL's 1996 season. After resigning as commissioner in 1997, Smith served as president of the Alouettes until 2001 and again from 2004 to 2010.

Smith was announced as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame 2023 class on March 16, 2023, in the builder's category.

Business career

Smith was president and publisher of the Montreal Gazette newspaper from 2002 to 2004. He has also held positions with Industrial Life Technical Services, John Labatt, Ltd., and Ogilvie Mills, Ltd.

Political career

Smith considered running for leader of the then new Conservative Party of Canada in 2004 and was widely reported by Canadian press at the time to be on the verge of entering the race before finally declaring he would not be a candidate.

On December 18, 2010, Smith was summoned to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and sat as a Conservative. Following his appointment to the Senate, Smith announced his intention to seek the nomination to run as a Conservative candidate in Lac-Saint-Louis in the next federal election. When asked in a television interview why he accepted the appointment while intending to run for a Commons seat, Smith complained that he was taking a "dramatic, catastrophic" pay cut by serving as a senator, a remark for which Smith has been criticized.

Smith was defeated in his attempt to enter Parliament, placing third behind the incumbent Liberal MP and the NDP candidate, and it was announced on May 18, 2011, he would be re-appointed to the Senate.

The Conservative Senate Caucus elected Smith its leader on March 28, 2017; Smith defeated Senators Linda Frum and Stephen Greene for the position, and took office on April 1, 2017. He served until November 5, 2019, when he was succeeded by Don Plett.

On August 4, 2022, Smith left the Conservative caucus to join the Canadian Senators Group. Smith clarified that he would remain a member of the Conservative Party.

On June 12, 2025, it was announced by Leo Housakos, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, that Smith had rejoined the Senate Conservative Caucus. He was chair of the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communication in the 45th Canadian Parliament.

Personal life

Smith has two sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Bradley, is a former receiver for the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos, and the first Bachelor Canada, while his daughter, Ashley, was formerly married to CFL placekicker and punter Damon Duval.

References

"Larry Smith". [[Montreal Alouettes]].
Berkovich, Karlo. (April 3, 1998). "Ex-CFL head has worries for all pro sports". [[Waterloo Region Record]].
(March 16, 2023). "Solomon Elimimian, John Bowman headline 2023 CFHOF class". [[Canadian Football League]].
McClintock, Maria. (November 17, 2003). "Lord knows, time is not right' N.B. Premier won't run for fed leader". Toronto Sun.
(December 21, 2010). "Tories hope Smith's star appeal will bring victory in Montreal". Globe and Mail.
(December 22, 2010). "'Catastrophic' pay cut to be senator: Smith". CBC News.
(December 23, 2010). "Larry Smith criticized for salary comment". CTV News.
(March 28, 2017). "Senator Larry Smith elected leader of Senate Conservatives". CBC News.
Dickson, Janice. (2019-11-05). "Tories elect Don Plett as new Opposition Leader in the Senate". The Globe and Mail.
Major, Darren. (2022-08-04). "Quebec senator leaving Conservative caucus but says he will remain a member of party". [[CBC News]].
https://x.com/SenatorHousakos/status/1933156541751791757
(November 7, 2007). "Duval and Popp at odds". Montreal Gazette.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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