Family
Rae was born in Ottawa, Ontario. His parents were Lois Esther (George) and Saul Rae, an eminent Canadian career diplomat who had postings in Washington, Geneva, New York, Mexico, and The Hague. Rae's paternal grandparents immigrated from Scotland, and his mother had English ancestry. Rae was raised as an Anglican (as an adult, he found out that his paternal grandfather was Jewish, and was from a family of Lithuanian immigrants to Scotland).
Rae's brother John is a Vice-President of Power Corporation and a prominent member of the Liberal Party. He was also an adviser to Jean Chrétien from 1993 until Chrétien retired in 2003. Rae's younger brother, David, was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1987. Despite a bone marrow transplant from his brother, he died of leukemia in 1989 at age 32.
Rae's sister, Jennifer, worked for many years for the IMAX Corporation but has now retired. She dated Pierre Trudeau for a time in the late 1960s.
Rae learned of his family's Jewish origins in 1968. The revelation had a strong impact on him, he sought to explore his Jewish culture, dated Jewish girls exclusively and ultimately married a Jewish woman. Upon his marriage to Arlene Perly Rae, Rae agreed to raise his children in his wife's Jewish faith. Rae is a member of Holy Blossom Temple, a Reform Jewish congregation in Toronto.
Rae is not related to Kyle Rae, the former Toronto City Councillor for a ward within Bob Rae's current federal riding.
Read more about this topic: Bob Rae
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“Providing for one’s family as a good husband and father is a water-tight excuse for making money hand over fist. Greed may be a sin, exploitation of other people might, on the face of it, look rather nasty, but who can blame a man for “doing the best” for his children?”
—Eva Figes (b. 1932)
“It’s a family joke that when I was a tiny child I turned from the window out of which I was watching a snowstorm, and hopefully asked, ‘Momma, do we believe in winter?’”
—Philip Roth (20th century)
“O God, and the wedding! All her family and her friends
and only a handful of mine all scroungy and bearded
just wait to get at the drinks and food—”
—Gregory Corso (b. 1930)