McGuire was born in
Vancouver,
British Columbia. McGuire and his wife, Debbie, spearheaded the formation of a Fine Arts based school in the
Surrey, British Columbia school district from 1996 to 1998. The school is now housed at White Rock Elementary with another proposed for the northern end of the city. In 2005 the couple (unsuccessfully) fought high rise development in their hometown of
White Rock, British Columbia. At the 1999
SOCAN Awards, McGuire received a SOCAN Classic Award for the Trooper hit "Two for the Show", presented for songs that have received over 100,000 documented radio plays. He received two additional Classic Awards with songwriting partner
Brian Smith for "We're Here for a Good Time" and "Santa Maria". McGuire received a fourth SOCAN Classic Award in 2005, for "Oh, Pretty Lady." In 2006, McGuire published an account of life on the road with Trooper,
Here for a Good Time, with
Insomniac Press. In 2007, he served as one of three judges for the
CBC's
Seven Wonders of Canada competition and co-produced his son, Connor McGuire's first solo album,
Different After Dawn. McGuire was featured when Trooper performed in the
2010 Olympics Victory Ceremonies in Vancouver on February 21, 2010. Coverage of the event was broadcast in Canada and around the world on networks such as
CTV and
Much Music. On April 25, 2012, Ra and Debbie McGuire were awarded the
World Harmony Run's Torchbearer Award On May 18, 2023, Trooper was inducted into the
Canadian Music Hall of Fame and McGuire received the Juno statuette as one of the inducted members.
Retirement Quoted from their official Facebook group, as of November 8, 2021, the final two founding members are retiring: "We have some news. Ra and Smitty are officially retiring. They've already been *unofficially* retired for a year and a half, so they've just decided to continue not working, since they've realized that they're getting pretty good at it. They are both healthy and happy, they've just decided that this is the best time to step back from the road and enjoy the life that this unplanned time-off has dropped them into. It's been a difficult decision and today marks a bittersweet and emotional turning point in their lives. They send their love to all their fans, friends, and everyone with whom they've shared the joyous, rockin', love-filled cross-Canada party that is Trooper. They will sorely miss you all. BUT HOLD ON ... If you've been looking forward to the next Trooper show, don't despair. Ra and Smitty have given their blessing to the rest of the band and crew to carry on as Trooper without them! More on this soon." == References ==