Ernest Richard

Who was Ernest Richard?

Rhéal Ernest Richard was a Canadian businessman and politician in the Province of New Brunswick.

Known by his middle name, Ernest Richard was born and raised in Shippagan, New Brunswick. He was involved in the east-coast fishing industry for many years. He was Director General of Shippagan Cold Storage Ltd. and after that company became a subsidiary of Connors Brothers Limited of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, he served on the Connors Board of Directors until retiring in 1985.

From 1948 to 1957, Ernest Richard served as a Shippagan town councillor and as Mayor from March 1957 to October 1960. In 1948, Richard also entered provincial politics and was elected by acclamation to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick as the Liberal Party member for Gloucester County. He was reelected in 1952, 1956, 1960, 1963, and again in 1967.

In 1960 he was made Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, serving until 1963 when Premier Louis Robichaud appointed him to his Cabinet as the Province's first ever Minister of Fisheries. Richard remained Minister of Fisheries until his retirement from politics in 1970.