The Honourable James A. Richardson, PC (1922 - 2004)

The Honourable James Armstrong Richardson, PC (March 28, 1922 - May 17, 2004) was a Canadian Cabinet Minister under Pierre Trudeau, and a Winnipeg businessman.

Mr. Richardson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and attended St. John's-Ravenscourt School. After attending Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He served as an anti-submarine pilot based in Iceland and Labrador during World War II.

Following the war, Richardson joined the family business, James Richardson & Sons, Limited and in 1966 was named the Firm's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

He left the company to enter politics, winning a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1968 election as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South. Richardson was appointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as a minister without portfolio on June 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 on June 5 of the same year. From November 27, 1972, until October 12, 1976, he was Minister of National Defence.

Mr. 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.

Mr. Richardson was known as a "business Liberal", on the right wing of the party. He clashed with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau over his plans to repatriate the Canadian Constitution and resigned from Cabinet in 1976 to protest the government's implementation of official bilingualism. In 1978, he left the Liberal caucus entirely and crossed 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, Jim Richardson rejoined the Firm's Board from 1980 - 1989. He was also actively involved on the boards of the Canada West Foundation, the Max Bell Foundation and the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada.