14 Facts About Raymond Speaker

Raymond Speaker served in the Alberta legislature and the Canadian Parliament for a total of 34 years.

Raymond Speaker graduated from the University of Alberta and taught in local schools until 1962.

Raymond Speaker remained a Social Credit MLA for many years after the party lost power in the 1971 election, usually winning handily even as the party's support ebbed away in the rest of the province.

When Bob Clark resigned the party leadership in 1980, a few months after losing the 1979 election, Raymond Speaker became parliamentary leader of the party and hence Leader of the Opposition.

However, in 1982, Raymond Speaker announced that Social Credit would be sitting out that year's election due to dwindling support for the party.

Raymond Speaker's announcement was disavowed by party officials, and a motion to dissolve the party failed.

However, in 1989, Raymond Speaker crossed the floor to the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta.

Raymond Speaker was re-elected with 70 percent of the vote in 1989, his best showing at the polls.

Raymond Speaker was the last surviving member of the last Socred government, as well as the last parliamentary survivor of the Manning and Strom governments.

Raymond Speaker sought and won the nomination of the Reform Party of Canada for the seat of Lethbridge in the federal Paarliament.

Raymond Speaker won handily, and served as finance critic and House Leader of the Reform caucus.

In 1999, Raymond Speaker was appointed to the Security Intelligence Review Committee, an agency which provides an external review of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and was named to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.

Raymond Speaker was the chair of the Conservative-Canadian Alliance merger.

Raymond Speaker was appointed as a mentor for the Trudeau Foundation of Canada in January 2008.