Raymond Simard
Raymond Simard, PC , MP , B.Comm , BA (born March 8, 1958) is a politician from Manitoba, Canada. He is currently a member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Saint Boniface for the Liberal Party of Canada.
Simard was born in Ste. Anne, Manitoba. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College universitaire de Saint-Boniface, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Manitoba. Simard worked as a businessman and consultant before entering political life, initially for a number of business concerns owned by his family. In 1999, he became the founding President and CEO of Riel Economic Development Corporation, and is also the President and co-owner of Simard Solutions.
In 2002 sitting Saint Boniface MP Ron Duhamel was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Simard was selected as the Liberal candidate for the resulting by-election, and on May 13, 2002 defeated Canadian Alliance candidate Denis Simard by about 4400 votes.
In parliament, Simard has expressed a special interest in matters relating to francophone concerns in Canada. His riding is one of the few in western Canada with a significant francophone population (16% list French as their mother tongue, according to the 2001 Canadian census), and the only such riding which regularly elects francophone candidates to parliament.
Simard has also consistently voted against the government on motions supporting the expansion of the definition of marriage to same-sex couples. This represents a sharp divergence with official Liberal Party policy.
In his private business life, Simard was responsible for opening the first bilingual services centre in Canada.
Simard was re-elected fairly easily in the 2004 federal election, defeating Conservative Ken Cooper by about 6,000 votes. On July 20, 2004, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Internal Trade, Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, and Minister responsible for Official Languages with responsibility for Official Languages and Democratic Reform.
In the 2006 federal election, Simard's third election in the federal riding of Saint-Boniface, Simard defeated for a second time Conservative Ken Cooper however by far fewer votes than previous years. In the same year Simard was apointed Deputy Whip of the Queen's Royal Opposition.