Arlene Perly Rae

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Arlene Perly Rae (born 1949) is a Canadian journalist, author and arts patron. She is married to Canadian politician Bob Rae.

Educated at the University of Toronto, Perly Rae was a longtime reviewer of children's literature for the Toronto Star. In 1997, she published Everybody's Favourites, a consumer guide to children's literature which evaluated some of the best books in the genre. She has also written as a freelancer for The Globe and Mail, Quill and Quire and Maclean's. Her interest in the welfare of children has led her to be a part of the national Campaign Against Child Poverty.

Perly Rae has also been on the boards of McClelland and Stewart, the Stratford Festival, World Literacy of Canada and the Canadian Jewish Congress. In her role as a board member of the CJC, she became the subject of controversy during the Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention, 2006, when anonymous messages were circulated to delegates urging them to vote against Bob Rae's candidacy for the leadership because he was married to a Jewish woman. The messages were widely denounced within the party.