Bob Rae : Ask Biography

Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Rae was a New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament from 1978 to 1982. Then he moved to provincial politics, becoming leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party from February 7, 1982 to June 22, 1996. He served as the 21st Premier of Ontario from October 1, 1990 to June 26, 1995, and was the first person to have led a provincial NDP government east of Manitoba. While in office, he brought forward a number of initiatives that were unpopular with many traditional NDP supporters, such as the Social Contract. Rae's subsequent disagreement with the leftward direction of the NDP led him to resign his membership and join the Liberals.

In 2006, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, finishing in third place on the third ballot. He had originally been a Liberal in the 1970s before joining the NDP. Rae returned to the Canadian House of Commons on March 31, 2008 as a Liberal MP after winning a March 17, 2008 by-election holding the riding that had previously been held by Liberal Bill Graham. He was re-elected in the 2008 general election. Rae ran again as a candidate for the party leadership but withdrew on December 12, 2008. He was re-elected in the Toronto Centre riding in the 2011 general election and was named interim leader of the Liberal Party weeks later, replacing Michael Ignatieff.