Canada (pt.2 L-W)

Serge Laprade - 83 - French Canadian 1960's Pop singer and radio broadcaster ran for the Liberals in the 1988 election unsuccsefully

SERGE LAPRADE ~ "CAPRI C'EST FINI";


Wilfred Laurier ~ Canadian Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911 was a famously cultured dandy who also played the flute.

Jack Layton ~ Current NDP leader and previously a longtime Toronto city councilor now Leader of the Opposition. Also a well known ham has been known to break out the guitar and harmonica and busk to fundraise for various causes. He also played the piano and a little saxophone. He died of cancer in 2011.

JACK LAYTON ~ "PARTY FOR SALE OR RENT";



Kenzie MacDonald; A Cape Breton singer and songwriter ("The Island") as well as a theatre and TV producer. He was also served as Chair of the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation and editor/publisher of the Cape Bretoner magazine. He also found time to run for Parliament as a Tory in 2004 and 2006, losing both times. In 2019 he ran again for the regional Cape Breton United Association (CBUA).

Rodney MacDonald ~ Tory Premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 is well known as a Cape Breton fiddler who has recorded for Smithsonian/Folkways as well as two albums of his own.

RODNEY MACDONALD ~ VARIOUS FIDDLE REELS;



Ashley MacIsaac ~ The flamboyant Cape Breton fiddler has long been an advocate of gay rights and the environment and done some charity work. In 2006 he announced that he was planning on running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada only to drop out a few months later.

ASHLEY MacISSAC ~ "POKA ROKIN";


Ernest Manning ~ Alberta Premier in the 1950's & 60's and successor to William Aberhart (see above). Like Aberhart he also came from a gospel background and also played the fiddle. He was the father of Reform Party founder Preston Manning.

Blair Martin ~ The singer/guitarist for Toronto punk band The Raving Mojos ran for mayor in 1982 against Liberal Art Eggleton and finished well back with 1,800 votes.

THE RAVING MOJOS ~ "STRANDED IN THE STREET";



Stephane Moraille; a singer with Canadian pop band Bran Van 3000 who had hit singles in the 1990's. Later became a lawyer and ran for the NDP in Montreal in 2013 and lost to the Liberals.

BRAN VAN 3000 ~ "DRINKIN' IN LA";


Kevin O'Leary; As one of the co-hosts of reality shows "Dragons Den" (in Canada) and "Shark Tank" O'Leary often loved to show-off his prowess on his collection of electric guitars. In 2017 he announced to much fanfare his intention of running for the leadership of the opposition Conservative Party. He quickly became one the front-runners but dropped out at the end of April when he made the startling discovery that his lack of French might be a bit of a drawback. In Canada. He endorsed the Tories in the 2019 losing 2019 election but any chances of gaining the party leadership sank when he was involved with a boating accident involving alcohol in which a woman died.

KEVIN O'LEARY & RANDY BACHMAN;


Sean Panting; A singer/songwriter in Newfoundland bands Drive and Kelly Russell & The Planks as well as solo as well as acting in the series "Republic Of Doyle". His father was leader of the Newfoundland NDP in the 1970's and Sean ran as candidate in the 2015 provincial election where he lost to the Liberals.

SEAN PANTING ~ "MUSIC AT WORK";


Elvis Aaron Presley ~ No not that one, this one is an Elvis impersonator from Canada's Yukon Territory who has performed with Chubby Checker and on the TV show "Dragon's Den". Born Gilbert Nelles, he legally changed his name after encountering a UFO, as you do. The King has also run for the Legislature twice as an independent and he also ran for the leadership of the Yukon Liberal Party in 2005 finishing last with five votes.

Bob Rae ~ Canadian MP from 1978 and NDP Premier of Ontario form 1990 -1995 currently serving as a Liberal MP in Toronto. One of his hobbies was playing piano and singing flatly, including at party fundraisers. Famously wrote a mawkish theme song "We're in the same boat now" which was cordially disliked by all. Lately he has challenged Prime Minister Harper to a piano playing contest which Harper declined to respond to.

BOB RAE ~ "LET IT BE";



Michelle Rempelle ~ High profile right-wing Alberta Conservative MP is a classically trained pianist although oddly there are no videos of this.

Trudy Schroeder ~ The then former executive director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra ran in a 2022 byelection for a Winnipeg suburb as a candidate for the NDP and finished a distant third behind two former pro football players.

BRAD WALL ~ Conservative Premier of Saskatchewan for several terms until 2016, he is also a competent bluegrass banjo player.

BRAD WALL & THE MacEVOYS: