Claude Richmond

Last updated

Patricia Simpson
​
(m. 1958)​
Claude Richmond
35th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
In office
June 19, 2001 –May 16, 2005

Claude Harry Richmond (born August 3, 1935) is a former Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the riding of Kamloops from 1981 to 1991 as part of the British Columbia Social Credit Party (Socred), [2] and from 2001 to 2009 as part of the British Columbia Liberal Party. He held various cabinet positions under premiers Bill Bennett, Bill Vander Zalm, Rita Johnston and Gordon Campbell, and served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2005.

Contents

Background

Born in Blue River, British Columbia, Richmond grew up in the Kamloops area and attended Kamloops Senior Secondary School. [1] [3] After serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force and working in small business, he served on the Kamloops City Council for two terms in the 1970s, then worked as manager of CHNL AM610 from 1978 to 1982. [1] [3]

He married his wife Patricia in 1958; [1] they have three children together. [3]

Provincial politics

Social Credit Party

Running for the Social Credit Party, he was first elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Kamloops in a 1981 by-election to replace Rafe Mair, [1] [3] [4] and was named to the cabinet as Minister of Tourism by Premier Bill Bennett in August 1982. [5] [6] He kept the portfolio after winning re-election in 1983. [3] [4] [6]

After Bill Vander Zalm replaced Bennett as premier in August 1986, Richmond was re-assigned as Minister of Social Services and Housing. [7] He was re-elected in that October's provincial election; [3] [4] with Kamloops being revised to a dual-member district, Richmond served that term alongside Bud Smith. He retained his cabinet portfolio, and additionally served as Minister of State for the Okanagan Region from October 1987 to July 1988. [7] Following the resignation of Bill Reid as Minister of Tourism and Provincial Secretary, Richmond briefly assumed those roles from September to November 1989, before becoming Minister of Forests. [7] He was also the Government House Leader from 1988 to 1991. [3]

Vander Zalm resigned as premier and party leader in April 1991; Richmond unsuccessfully contested the ensuing interim leadership vote, [8] and subsequently stayed on as Minister of Forests under new premier Rita Johnston. [3] [9] He declined to run in that year's provincial election, which saw the Socreds reduced to only seven seats in the legislature. Following Johnston's resignation in January 1992, Richmond ran again for party leader. In the November 1993 leadership election, he came in third place behind Graham Bruce and eventual winner Grace McCarthy on the second ballot, and was eliminated. [10]

While away from politics, Richmond conducted consultancy work in the resource sector, and served as managing director of Kamloops Airport Limited from 1997 to 2001. [1] [3]

Liberal Party

He returned to politics in 2001 by running again in Kamloops in that year's provincial election, this time for the BC Liberals. He defeated the incumbent New Democratic Party candidate Cathy McGregor to re-enter the legislature, [4] and was chosen as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. [3] After winning re-election in 2005, [4] [11] he was named to Premier Gordon Campbell's cabinet that June as Minister of Employment and Income Assistance. [12]

On May 9, 2008, he announced that he would not stand for re-election in the 2009 provincial election; [13] he was dropped from the cabinet that June. [12] [14]

Related Research Articles

William Nicholas Vander Zalm is a Dutch-born Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.

Rita Margaret Johnston is a Canadian politician in British Columbia. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded Bill Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th premier of British Columbia, serving for seven months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Social Credit Party</span> Political party in British Columbia, Canada

The British Columbia Social Credit Party was a conservative political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was the governing party of British Columbia for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For four decades, the party dominated the British Columbian political scene, with the only break occurring between the 1972 and 1975 elections when the British Columbia New Democratic Party governed. Party member were known as Socreds.

Grace Mary McCarthy, OC, OBC, LLD, DTech, FRAIC (Hon.) was a Canadian politician and florist in British Columbia. A high-ranking member of the Social Credit Party of British Columbia, she was largely responsible for rebuilding that party after its defeat in the 1972 provincial election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 British Columbia general election</span> British Columbia State Assembly

The 1991 British Columbia general election was the 35th provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on September 19, 1991, and held on October 17, 1991. The incumbent Social Credit Party of British Columbia, which had been beset by scandals during Bill Vander Zalm's only term as premier, was defeated by the New Democratic Party of Mike Harcourt. Liberal Party leader Gordon Wilson surprised observers by leading his party to winning one-third of the votes cast, and forming the official opposition in the legislature after having held no seats at all since 1979. The new legislature met for the first time on March 17, 1992.

The British Columbia Social Credit Party was a conservative political party in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The provincial Social Credit movement was divided in its early years and was largely under the influence of the Alberta Social Credit League; it did not have a functional leadership before 1952.

Stanley Brian Hagen was a Canadian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on two separate occasions. He was the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the riding of Comox from 1986 to 1991 as part of the British Columbia Social Credit Party (Socred), and MLA for the riding of Comox Valley as part of the British Columbia Liberal Party from 2001 until his death. During his political career, he served as minister for 10 different ministries; he was the Minister of Agriculture and Lands when he died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 British Columbia general election</span>

The 1986 British Columbia general election was the 34th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The sitting Social Credit government was re-elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrey-Newton (provincial electoral district)</span> Provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

Surrey-Newton is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.

John Davis, was a Canadian politician from British Columbia who was elected both federally and provincially.

The Politics of British Columbia involve not only the governance of British Columbia, Canada, and the various political factions that have held or vied for legislative power, but also a number of experiments or attempts at political and electoral reform.

Kevin Krueger is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia. He represented the riding of Kamloops-North Thompson from 1996 to 2009, and Kamloops-South Thompson from 2009 to 2013. As part of the BC Liberal Party caucus, he served in several cabinet posts under Premier Gordon Campbell.

Brian Ray Douglas Smith is a Canadian politician and business executive. He served for a decade on Oak Bay municipal council and was mayor of Oak Bay from 1974 to 1979. Smith was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 1979 election to represent the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head for the Social Credit Party. He was re-elected in the 1983 and 1986 election.

Graham Preston Bruce is a former Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Cowichan-Malahat from 1986 to 1991 as part of the Social Credit Party (Socred), and the district of Cowichan-Ladysmith from 2001 to 2005 as a BC Liberal. He was a cabinet minister under premiers Rita Johnston and Gordon Campbell.

Stuart Douglas Boland "Bud" Smith is a lawyer, businessman and former politician in British Columbia. He represented Kamloops in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991 as a Social Credit member, serving alongside Claude Richmond in a dual-member district.

Melville Bertram Couvelier was a businessman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Saanich and the Islands from 1986 to 1991 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Social Credit member.

Peter Albert Dueck was a politician and cabinet minister in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

David Maurice Mercier was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991, as a Social Credit member for the constituency of Burnaby-Edmonds. In 1991, he served several months as British Columbia's Minister of Environment. He was a chartered accountant. Mercier was mayor of Burnaby, British Columbia from 1979 to 1981. He previously ran unsuccessfully in Burnaby-Edmonds in the 1966 provincial election as a Liberal candidate and in Burnaby-Willingdon in the 1972 provincial election as a Social Credit candidate.

The Johnston ministry was the combined Cabinet that governed British Columbia from April 2, 1991, to November 5, 1991. It was led by Rita Johnston, the 29th premier of British Columbia, and consisted of members of the Social Credit Party.

The Vander Zalm ministry was the combined Cabinet that governed British Columbia from August 6, 1986, to April 2, 1991. It was led by Bill Vander Zalm, the 28th premier of British Columbia, and consisted of members of the Social Credit Party.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Richmond, Hon. Claude (Kamloops) Speaker of the Legislative Assembly". Canadian Parliamentary Guide. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  2. ↑ Who's who in the West: A Biographical Dictionary of Noteworthy Men and Women of the Pacific Coast and the Western States. A.N. Marquis Company. 2004. ISBN   9780837909356 . Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "MLA: Claude Richmond". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Candidates: Claude Harry Richmond". Canadian Elections Database. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  5. ↑ Kidd, Kenneth (August 21, 1982). "British Columbia shuffles cabinet". The Financial Post. p. 12. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Bennett, Judith Antonik; Verspoor, Frederike. "British Columbia Executive Council Appointments 1871 - 1986" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. p. 76. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 "Vander Zalm Cabinet: 33rd-34th Parliament 1986-1991" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia . Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ Fleming, Andrew (April 2, 2015). "Archives: Rita Johnston becomes Canada's first female premier". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Rita Johnston Cabinet: 34th Parliament 1991" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia . Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ Courtney, John C. (1995). Do Conventions Matter?: Choosing National Party Leaders in Canada. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 369. ISBN   0773565698.
  11. ↑ "Kamloops again votes with winner". CBC News. May 18, 2005. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Campbell Cabinet: 37th Parliament 2001-2005, 38th Parliament 2005-2009, 39th Parliament 2009-2011" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia . Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  13. ↑ "MLA Richmond steps down, citing health". Vancouver Province. May 11, 2008. p. A23.
  14. ↑ "Premier names new cabinet heading into election". CBC News. June 23, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.