TheRat Pack was the nickname given to a group of young, high-profileCanadianLiberaloppositionMembers of Parliament during theProgressive Conservative government ofPrime MinisterBrian Mulroney.
In the1984 federal election, the Liberal Party had suffered what was then the worst defeat in its history. In the33rd Canadian Parliament, the Liberals were in danger of being overshadowed by theNew Democratic Party (NDP), which had won almost as many seats as the Liberals.
In the midst of this, a group of young, energetic, and hitherto little-known Liberals soon emerged as a vocal voice of opposition to Mulroney. They wereDon Boudria from easternOntario,Sheila Copps fromHamilton,Brian Tobin fromNewfoundland, andJohn Nunziata from theGreater Toronto Area. Tobin had been elected when the Liberals under former prime ministerPierre Trudeau regained power from theJoe Clark-led Conservatives in the1980 election; the others had retained constituencies that retiring Liberal MPs elected in 1980 had won. They played roles in ending the careers of several of Mulroney's ministers due to their vocal criticism.[1] The Rat Packers continued to serve asOfficial Opposition MPs after the PCs won the1988 election and moved into supporting the government when the Liberals won in1993.
Boudria, Tobin, and Copps were all appointed to Cabinet at various times during the subsequent ministry ofJean Chrétien.
Nunziata was expelled from the Liberal Party in 1996 for voting against the budget. He then ran—and won—as an independent candidate in the1997 federal election and then lost to LiberalAlan Tonks in2000. Tobin left Parliament in 1996 to become leader of theNewfoundland Liberal Party; he served as that province'spremier until returning to Parliament in 2000.
UnderPaul Martin, who succeeded Chrétien in 2003, Copps and Boudria were relegated to the Liberal backbenches. Tobin had already left Parliament in 2002 in protest of the stranglehold on the Liberal organization by Martin's supporters. In 2004, Copps's riding was merged with that of Martin loyalistTony Valeri. Copps was narrowly defeated for renomination. The last remaining member of the group, Boudria, had chosen to retire by the time of the 39th federal election in2006.