Rick Perkins was raised in Nova Scotia, a resident of St. Margaret’s Bay Rick’s family has lived in the South Shore - St. Margarets federal electoral district for more than 270 years and were founding families of several communities on the South Shore.
Rick’s ancestors were farmers, shipwrights, fishermen and carpenters. Rick is a business leader who has worked in both the public and private sectors and has founded several small businesses. Rick has led businesses in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta. A retail business leader, most recently Rick engineered the takeover of the largest private-sector alcohol retailer in Alberta and British Columbia.
Like far too many Nova Scotians, Rick had to leave the province after high school to find work. He returned home 15 years ago to help turnaround one of Nova Scotia’s leading retailers. Rick is running because far too many of the Trudeau Government’s policies are reducing job opportunities and reducing affordability of life’s necessities in rural Nova Scotia forcing young people to leave just like Rick.
Rick is a business leader who has worked in both the public and private sectors, in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta and has founded several small businesses. Rick is also a community leader who has served in volunteer roles for several important organizations in Nova Scotia including serving seven years as Vice-Chair of the Nova Scotia Hearing & Speech Foundation and the Neptune Theatre Foundation.
A retail business leader, most recently Rick engineered the takeover of the largest private-sector alcohol retailer in Alberta and British Columbia. Elected to the Board of Director’s, he was appointed the lead executive to turnaround this underperforming business. Prior to this Rick was a key member of the new private sector executive team recruited fifteen years ago to modernize the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation; Rick played a key leadership role in driving its strategic planning and transformation into a customer-driven business. Rick’s private sector roles included serving in senior management at two of Canada’s largest financial institutions. A natural entrepreneur and small business leader, Rick co-found a successful market and investor relations firm and has been a private consultant. He also served eight years on the Board of Directors of Canada’s small business bank – the Business Development Bank of Canada – appointed by Prime Minister Harper.Rick learned politics and government early in his career from the inside with more progressively senior government roles starting as an MP’s Parliamentary Assistant, to senior policy advisor and executive assistant to Barbara McDougall in the departments of Finance, Employment and Immigration, Privatization, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and finally as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the South Shore’s own MP, Peter McCreath. Rick has been a Party volunteer for over thirty years, worked on numerous elections, been on local executives and campaigns, been an official agent, worked on countless leadership campaigns, served on the Party’s National Executive and on the National Campaign Committee for our Party on several occasions.
Rick has also served on the Retail Council of Canada’s Public Affairs Committee and Chief Marketing Executives Committee and its Government Relations Committee; as well as the Chief Marketing Executives Committee of the Conference Board of Canada. He was the founding President of the Saint Mary’s University EMBA Alumni Association.
Rick holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University where he received the Gold Medal as top student.
Rick Perkins, MP - South Shore - St. Margarets - Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry.