Hugh Segal, Conservative Senator and Poverty Advocate, Dies At 72
On wednesday, Hugh Segal, former political strategist, academic & politician Hugh Segal passed away at 72. Segal served as chief of staff to Ontario Premier Bill Davis & Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, was appointed as Senator for Kingston-Frontenac Leeds, and was a tireless advocate for a Guaranteed Basic Income to eradicate poverty. Segal described himself as a Red Tory and a "traditional Conservative" in the tradition of John Diefenbaker & Sir John A. MacDonald, and has been a harsh critic of Neo-Conservatism, particularly the form seen in the United States. Born into a poor immigrant family in Montreal, he first joined the political arena as a staffer for federal PC opposition leader Robert Stanfield in the early 1970's while still studying as a student at the University of Ottawa. After graduating he ran for the PC's in two federal elections in Ottawa Centre, losing in both 1972 & 1974. After those failures he decided to return to the worl...