Jim Peterson, retired Toronto MP and former Liberal trade minister, dead at 82

Jim Peterson, a retired Toronto MP and former Liberal cabinet minister, has died at the age of 82.

"Our Jim left us this morning," his family said in a statement provided to CBC News on Friday evening.

"He will never be replaced in our hearts and he will live on forever in our memories. His big brain and his big heart meant everything to us and to anyone who had the privilege to know or work alongside him."

The statement said the family will share more information about how they plan to "celebrate his extraordinary life" in the coming days.

First elected in 1980

Years before Peterson made it to Parliament, he was part of a dramatic event that made international headlines — the 1974 defection of famed Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Peterson, who then worked as a lawyer, helped Baryshnikov make the jump to the West.

Peterson was elected as the MP for the Toronto riding of Willowdale on multiple occasions — first in 1980 for a single term, but later returning to represent the office through six consecutive terms running from 1988 until his retirement in 2007.

Near the end of his parliamentary career, Peterson served as Canada's international trade minister under Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.

Family politics

Peterson also served as the secretary of state for international financial institutions under Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien, Martin's predecessor.

In his first term as an MP, when the Liberals were also in power, Peterson served as a parliamentary secretary.

Two of Peterson's brothers also had political careers. His brother David Peterson served as the premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990, while his brother Tim Peterson served as an MPP in Ontario.