Ralph Goodale to Receive 2020 Award for Excellence

The Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy announced today that former Federal cabinet minister, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, will be the 2020 recipient of the Society’s Award for Excellence in the Cause of Parliamentary Democracy.

After graduating as Gold Medalist in his law school class at the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Goodale was elected in 1974 at the age of 24 as Member of Parliament for the riding of Assiniboia—the first of nine terms he would serve in Ottawa. In 1981 he was chosen as leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal party including a stint in the provincial legislature between 1986 and 1988. During one of those summers, a young Jason Kenney was a staffer in his office.

Mr. Goodale returned to the House of Commons in 1993 as the Member of Parliament for Wascana. He served in the federal Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Minister of Natural Resources, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Minister of Finance—where he delivered two consecutive balanced budgets—and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Mr. Goodale is currently serving as Special Advisor to the Government of Canada with respect to its response to the shooting-down of Flight PS752 near Tehran last January which claimed the lives of 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.

Mr. Goodale will be the 37th recipient of the Churchill Society’s Award of Excellence. Every year since 1983 the Award has been presented at the Society’s annual dinner in November, however, given uncertainties caused by the current pandemic, the Society is exploring alternative measures to celebrate this year’s Award recipient.