Hugh Segal

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Hugh Segal, CM, LLD (born October 13, 1950) is a Canadian senator and political strategist. He played an important role in the 2006 election that led to the election of Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of Canada.

Segal finished second to Joe Clark in the 1998 Progressive Conservative leadership election. He had also briefly considered running for the leadership in 1993, while serving as chief of staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Segal's political career dates back decades. He was inspired by a visit by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to his Montreal high school in the early 1960's. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa. He was an aide to federal Progressive Conservative Leader of the Opposition Robert Stanfield in the early 1970s, while still a university student. At age 21, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1972 general election. He was defeated again in 1974.

As a member of the Big Blue Machine, Segal was a senior aide to Ontario Progressive Conservative Premier Bill Davis in the 1970s and 1980s and was named Deputy Minister at age 29. In the 1980's and 1990's, Segal became well known for his wit and exuberance as a television pundit. Segal also wrote books and newspaper columns, taught at the School of Policy Studies and the School of Business at Queen's University in Kingston and served as President of The Institute for Research on Public Policy, a Montreal think tank. In the private sector, Segal has been an executive in the advertising, brewing, and financial services industries.

Segal espouses a moderate brand of conservatism that has little in common with British Thatcherism or U.S. Neo-Conservatism. He is a Red Tory in the tradition of Benjamin Disraeli and Sir John A. Macdonald. This political philosophy stresses the common good and promotes social harmony between classes. It is often associated with One Nation Conservatism. The focus is on order, good government and mutual responsibility. Individual rights and personal freedom are not considered absolute. In his book Beyond Greed: A Traditional Conservative Confronts Neo-Conservative Excess (Toronto: Stoddart, 1997), Segal sought to distinguish what he called “traditional” conservatives from neo-conservatives, notably those in the United States.

In an earlier book, his 1996 memoir No Surrender (page 225) Segal wrote: "Progressive Conservatives cannot embrace the nihilistic defeatism that masquearades as a neo-conservative polemic in support of individual freedom and disengagement." He went on to deplore "American fast-food conservatism." In a speech to the National Press Club on June 21, 1995, Segal referred to the "selfish and directionless nature of the American revolution -- which was more about self-interest, mercantile opportunity, and who collected what tax than it was about tolerance or freedom."

Segal opposed on civil liberties grounds the imposition of the War Measures Act by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the October Crisis of 1970. He favors strengthening Canada's military and encouraging investment, while maintaining a strong social safety net. His 1998 proposal to reduce Canada's Goods and Services Tax from 7% to 6% (and then 5%) was adopted by Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party in 2005.

In 2003, Segal was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2005 by Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin. Segal served as national co-chair of the 2005-2006 Conservative campaign. He visited more than 30 electoral districts and is credited with moderating Stephen Harper's image. He is an honourary member of the Royal Military College of Canada.

He is the brother of corporate executive Brian Segal.

[edit] Videos

• How Canadian conservatism differs from the American version Online video conference by Hugh Segal, part of the larger Predominance in the U.S. : A Moment or an Era ? 21 experts from the U.S. and abroad, including former Bush speechwriter David Frum, ponder the future of conservatism.

Preceded by: Isobel Finnerty, Liberal

Senator from Ontario 2005–Present

Succeeded by: Incumbent