- James Armstrong Richardson
James Armstrong Richardson, PC (
March 28 ,1922 –May 17 ,2004 ) was aCanadian Cabinet minister underPierre Trudeau , and aWinnipeg businessman.Richardson was born in Winnipeg,
Manitoba and attendedSt. John's-Ravenscourt School . After attending Queen's University in Kingston,Ontario , he enlisted in theRoyal Canadian Air Force . He served as an anti-submarine pilot based inIceland andLabrador duringWorld War II .Following the war, Richardson joined the family owned grain company, James Richardson and Sons, and became
Chief Executive Officer and chairman in 1966.He left the company to enter politics, winning a seat in the
Canadian House of Commons in the 1968 election as the LiberalMember of Parliament forWinnipeg South . Richardson easily defeated future provincialcabinet minister Bud Sherman , his Progressive Conservative opponent.Richardson was appointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau as aminister without portfolio onJune 6 ,1968 . He also served as acting Minister of Transport for five days in early 1969, and was promoted to Minister of Supply and Services onJune 5 of the same year. FromNovember 27 ,1972 , untilOctober 12 ,1976 , he was Minister of National Defence.Richardson was re-elected without difficulty in the 1972 election. In the 1974 election, he defeated future
Premier of Manitoba Sterling Lyon by only 1,266 votes.Richardson was known as a "business Liberal", on the right wing of the party. He resigned from Cabinet in 1976 to protest the government's implementation of
official bilingualism . In 1978, he left the Liberalcaucus entirely andcrossed the floor (by actually physically crossing it) to sit as an Independent MP for the remainder of his term. He was not a candidate in the 1979 election.After leaving elected politics, Richardson helped found the
Canada West Council , and served on a number of corporate boards. He also created James Richardson International, the successor company to James Richardson & Sons.In 1987, Richardson announced his support for the newly-created
Reform Party of Canada . He was the brother ofAgnes Benidickson , former Chancellor of Queen's University and brother-in-law of former Liberal MP and Cabinet ministerWilliam Moore Benidickson .ee also
List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor External links
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/05/17/richardson040517.html Former cabinet minister James Richardson dies] CBC News report
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