Ralph Goodale

Early life

Goodale was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and raised on a farm near Wilcox, Saskatchewan, the son of Winnifred Claire (Myers) and Thomas Henry Goodale. He was a member of Scouts Canada and earned the rank of Queen's Scout. He first attended the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus and then obtained a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he was awarded the Gold Medal for academic achievement.

Federal politics, 1974–1979

Active at politics from a young age, he was first elected to the Parliament of Canada in the 1974 election at the age of 24 from the seat of Assiniboia. He defeated New Democratic Party (NDP) incumbent Bill Knight. He served as a backbench supporter of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government until the 1979 election, when he was defeated, coming in third behind winning Progressive Conservative Lenard Gustafson and Knight.

Provincial politics

In 1981, Goodale was named leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. He led that party to a very poor showing in the 1982 provincial election, in which the party received 4.51% of the popular vote and won no seats in the provincial legislature. However, Goodale was the only Liberal candidate to receive more than 1,000 votes; he won 2,760 in Assiniboia-Gravelbourg and lost narrowly to incumbent Allen Engel.

The party won 9.99% of the vote in the 1986 provincial election, but only Goodale was elected to the legislature, defeating Engel in a rematch. Goodale ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility in this election, arguing that both the Progressive Conservative and New Democratic parties favoured excessive spending policies, typified by their proposals for a Keynesian-style stimulation of the provincial economy through subsidized home improvement and renovation schemes.

Return to federal politics

Defeated in 1988 election

Goodale resigned as leader to run for the federal Liberals in the 1988 election for the seat of Regina—Wascana. He lost narrowly to former Regina mayor Larry Schneider, who later went on to serve briefly in Kim Campbell's cabinet. Beginning earlier that year and prior to his resignation, Goodale's executive assistant was Jason Kenney. Kenney would become a Conservative Party of Canada MP in Calgary ridings Calgary Southeast and Calgary Midnapore (1997–2016) and later Premier of Alberta (2019-2022).

Goodale then spent five years in the private sector, working for companies such as the Pioneer Life Assurance Company, Pioneer Lifeco Inc., and Sovereign Life Insurance Co.; he has stated in interviews that he felt his political career had ended.

In government, 1993–2006

Goodale contested Regina—Wascana again in the 1993 federal election and was elected as part of the Liberal landslide that year. As a member of the new Chrétien cabinet, Goodale was named Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. He has the prenominal "the Honourable" and the postnominal "PC" for life by virtue of being made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on November 4, 1993. He was reelected for this riding, known as Wascana from 1997 to 2015, in the next seven federal eelections. During this time, he made a guest appearance on the episode "Picture Perfect" of Corner Gas (season 3 episode 9, which aired on November 14th 2005.

In 1997, he became the Minister of Natural Resources. In May 2002, he was named Minister of Public Works and Government Services, a few weeks after the Auditor General Sheila Fraser issued a report accusing the department of inappropriate contracting practices. This began the exposure of the Sponsorship scandal.

A close ally of Paul Martin, Goodale was appointed to the senior portfolio of Finance Minister when Martin became Prime Minister on December 12, 2003. In that capacity he tabled two consecutive balanced budgets and launched the Government's productivity agenda.

On December 28, 2005, a letter surfaced from Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli confirming the force was launching a criminal investigation into whether details regarding government tax policies relating to income trust funds were leaked from the Finance Minister's office. Goodale said he would co-operate completely with any investigation, but would not step aside while the RCMP continued their probe. The investigation dealt only with the Department of Finance, and not the minister himself. On February 15, 2007 the RCMP announced the conclusion of the income trust investigation and laid a charge of 'Breach of Trust' against Serge Nadeau, an official in the Department of Finance, who pleaded guilty in 2010. Goodale was cleared of any wrongdoing, and blamed the NDP's Judy Wasylycia-Leis for sabotaging the Liberals in the 2006 election.

In opposition, 2006–2015

Goodale was re-elected to the House of Commons in the general election on January 23, 2006, but the Conservatives won government and he lost his cabinet position. He was named Opposition House Leader by interim Liberal leader Bill Graham in 2006, and continued to serve in this role under the leaderships of Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff until September 2010 when he was promoted to Deputy Leader.

2006 Liberal Party leadership election

After the Liberals' defeat and Paul Martin's election-night announcement that he would resign as party leader, Goodale initially indicated that he was not interested in succeeding Martin in that post. "I do not anticipate ever having to cross that bridge," he said. "I rule it out." On March 13, 2006, the Toronto Star reported that Goodale was reconsidering his decision, and stated that he may enter the Liberal leadership election after all. In the end, he declined, citing his inability to speak French as a key reason. On November 28, 2006, he endorsed Bob Rae to be the next leader of the Liberal Party. After the third ballot, Bob Rae, who finished third, was eliminated. Goodale then endorsed Stéphane Dion, the eventual winner.

Goodale was opposed to David Orchard's candidacy in the by-election for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. Dion terminated the nomination contest and appointed Joan Beatty as the candidate.

Proposed coalition government, 2008

Goodale was re-elected once more in the fall of 2008. One month later, in November 2008, the Liberals and their fellow opposition parties in the Canadian parliament, the NDP and Bloc Québécois, indicated their intention to defeat Stephen Harper's Conservative government in a motion of no confidence, and expressed their desire for Governor General Michaëlle Jean to ask a member of the opposition to form a new government. While there was initially some speculation that Goodale would become Prime Minister of Canada as leader of the proposed coalition government, the coalition agreement simply made "the leader of the Liberal Party" Prime Minister. The Liberals agreed shortly after that Stéphane Dion would lead the government on an interim basis until a new Liberal leader was chosen. In the end, at Prime Minister Harper's request, Jean prorogued Parliament before a confidence vote could be put to the House. By the time Parliament resumed in January 2009, Michael Ignatieff had become interim leader of the party. He did not seek to bring down the government and agreed to support Harper's budget with amendments.

2011 election

Goodale was one of the 34 Liberal MPs who was returned in the 2011 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada's worst-ever electoral performance. He and Kevin Lamoureux of Winnipeg North in Winnipeg, Manitoba, were the only two Liberal MPs elected from the Prairie provinces.

The NDP surpassed the Liberals in number of seats, becoming the official opposition, resulted in priority in choosing parliamentary offices. They requested that Goodale forfeit his suite in the coveted Center Block. The Liberals saw this as a measure of disrespect to Goodale, noting that he had seniority as a former cabinet minister and house leader, despite this being standard practice and noting the Conservatives had not asked any Liberals to give up their offices.

In government, 2015–2019

The Liberals won a majority government in the 2015 federal election, and Goodale was re-elected to a ninth term in the House of Commons, once again representing Regina—Wascana as a consequence of electoral district redistribution. In his first cabinet, the new prime minister Justin Trudeau named Goodale to be Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. He was the only MP to serve in government with both Pierre and Justin Trudeau. An order in council on November 4, 2015, placed Goodale as first in line to assume the prime minister's powers and duties as acting prime minister, should Prime Minister Justin Trudeau become incapacitated. Trudeau did not appoint a deputy prime minister at that time.

Goodale sought re-election in the 2019 federal election, but lost his bid to Conservative Party candidate Michael Kram in a rematch of the 2015 race. Despite having represented the riding since 1993, Goodale was defeated by more than 16 percentage points.

Post-political career

On March 31, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of Goodale as Special Advisor to the Government of Canada's response to Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crash. Goodale will "examine lessons learned" from Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Air India Flight 182 and other air disasters and "develop a framework to guide Canada's responses to international air disasters."

Diplomatic career

Goodale was appointed the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom on April 13, 2021, replacing Janice Charette, who was appointed the interim clerk of the Privy Council. The appointment drew praise from Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe, who called the appointment "well deserved" and stating Goodale will be "a real advocate and a great representative for the nation and Canada, but he’ll also be, in many ways, a great representative for the province of Saskatchewan", as well as Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong, who said Goodale "brings a lot of experience to the job". Goodale's priorities in the position will include "working with the U.K. on climate change and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic" as well as replacing the "transitional trade agreement with a permanent deal in the wake of Brexit". On December 13, 2023, Goodale was appointed as representative of Canada to the Ismaili Imamat. His tenure ended in December 2025.

Electoral record

Regina—Wascana

Assiniboia-Gravelbourg

|- |- bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3|Total !align="right"|7,914 !align="right"|100.00 !align="right"|

|- |- bgcolor="white" !align="left" colspan=3|Total !align="right"|8,532 !align="right"| !align="right"|

Assiniboia

Honours

Commonwealth honours

; Commonwealth honours

References

References

1. https://x.com/CanadianUK/status/2001336594306097215
2. . (). ["The Hon. Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P."](https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=4487). *Library of Parliament*.
3. (2005). "The Canadian Parliamentary Guide". Gale Canada.
4. (1983). "The Canadian Who's who". University of Toronto Press.
5. [http://www.scouts.ca/dnn/MediaCentre/AnnualGeneralMeeting2009/tabid/1748/Default.aspx] {{webarchive. link. (November 28, 2009)
6. [http://www.saskarchives.com/web/seld/2-13.pdf] {{webarchive. link. (September 28, 2007)
7. (February 22, 2013). "Q & A: Jason Kenney on his role as Canada's immigration minister". [[The Toronto Star]].
8. link. (August 12, 2004)
9. "Picture Perfect." Corner Gas. CTV, CFQC-DT, Saskatoon. 14 Nov 2015.
10. Martin, Lawrence ''Iron Man'', Toronto: Viking, 2003 page 358
11. (2005-12-29). "RCMP to investigate allegations of income trust leak". CBC News.
12. (2011-04-20). "RCMP investigation conclusion". News.gc.ca.
13. (7 May 2010). "Former Finance Department bureaucrat pleads guilty to illegal stock trades". Guelph Mercury.
14. (2007-02-16). "Goodale cleared in trust case". Canada.com.
15. Taber, Jane. (May 31, 2011). "First went their colleagues, now the Grits are losing office space". The Globe and Mail.
16. (April 21, 2006). "Ralph Goodale rules out run for Liberal leadership {{!}} CBC News". [[CBC News]].
17. (March 13, 2006). "Rae speaks today, and Liberals are listening; Ex-NDP premier not expected to formally announce leadership bid yet But Winnipeg address raises profile in a crowded field of potential rivals". [[The Toronto Star]].
18. (November 29, 2006). "Goodale backing boosts Rae bid". [[The Toronto Star]].
19. (January 5, 2008). "Dion accused of snubbing Orchard". [[The Toronto Star]].
20. Whittington, Les. (November 30, 2008). "Tories blink first in showdown". [[Toronto Star]].
21. (December 1, 2008). "Liberals, NDP, Bloc sign deal on proposed coalition". [[CBC News]].
22. (November 4, 2015). "Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale sworn in as minister of public safety". [[CBC News]].
23. Cassidy, Tiffany. (October 21, 2015). "Ralph Goodale only MP to serve under both Trudeau prime ministers". [[CBC News]].
24. Office, Government of Canada Privy Council. "Orders in Council - Search".
25. Martin, Ashley. (October 22, 2019). "Election 2019: Goodale loses seat in Regina-Wascana".
26. (March 31, 2020). "Ralph Goodale named special advisor to feds on Iran plane crash".
27. (March 31, 2020). "The Prime Minister announces Special Advisor for Canada's ongoing response to the Ukraine International Airlines tragedy". [[Office of the Prime Minister (Canada).
28. Canada, Government of. "Orders In Council - Search".
29. "Ralph Goodale named as Canada's new high commissioner to U.K. amid Brexit tensions".
30. "Ralph Goodale named Canada's high commissioner to U.K.".
31. Canada, Global Affairs. (2023-12-13). "Minister Joly announces appointment of the Honourable Ralph Goodale as representative of Canada to Ismaili Imamat".
32. https://www.politico.eu/article/canada-keir-starmer-mark-carney-ambitious-new-partnership-trump-turmoil/