James Scott "Jim" Peterson, PC (born July 30, 1941) is a retired Canadian politician and former Minister of International Trade.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he has a DCL from McGill University, a Master of Laws from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Ontario. As well he has diplomas from Hague Academy of International Law in The Hague and La Sorbonne in Paris.As a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons he represented the riding of Willowdale in Toronto. Peterson first ran as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the 1979 election but was defeated. He ran again in the 1980 election and won, serving as a backbencher under Pierre Trudeau and as a parliamentary secretary from 1981 to 1983. He supported John Turner's successful bid to succeed Trudeau in the 1984 Liberal leadership contest but lost his seat in the 1984 election. He was returned to Parliament as a result of the 1988 election and was re-elected in each subsequent election until his retirement in 2007.In 1997, Jean Chrétien appointed him to the Ministry as Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions), but Peterson was sent back to the backbench in 2002. He returned to serve in the cabinet of Paul Martin, whom Peterson had long supported.Peterson first came to public attention in 1974 when he helped ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov defect from the Soviet Union during a performance of the Bolshoi Ballet in Toronto.Jim Peterson is the brother of former Ontario Premier David Peterson. Another brother, Tim Peterson, was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal, but was defeated as a Progressive Conservative. His sister-in-law, Deb Matthews is a Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament and Deputy Premier of Ontario.He was mentioned as a potential interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, following the resignation of Paul Martin, however, Bill Graham was named to the position. Peterson did not take a critic's portfolio in the Liberal Party's Shadow Cabinet formed by Graham or by Martin's permanent successor, Stéphane Dion. He and his brother David supported Michael Ignatieff for the Liberal party leadership.On March 8, 2007, Peterson announced that he would not be a candidate in the next federal election. Former Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidate Martha Hall Findlay was appointed as the Liberal candidate in his riding. On June 20, 2007, he announced his resignation from the House of Commons, which took effect July 12.On November 20, 2007, Peterson joined the international law firm of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin as counsel. On December 20, Sandra Pupatello, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Trade, appointed Peterson as Ontario's Chief Negotiator in the Quebec/Ontario trade, investment and labour mobility negotiations.
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