For many decades, Bob Rae has been a prominent figure in Canadian and global politics, as Premier of Ontario and as a federal parliamentarian, including serving as interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He now represents Canada at the United Nations as its twenty-fifth Canadian ambassador. He is a long-standing fan of the Stratford Festival, and his wife, Arlene Perly Rae, is a former member of the Festival's Board of Governors.