Jack Austin (politician)

The Honourable Jack Austin PC CM OBC
Austin in 2017
Leader of the Government in the Senate
In office December 12, 2003 – February 5, 2006
Prime Minister	Paul Martin
Deputy	Fernand Robichaud Bill Rompkey
Whip	Bill Rompkey Rose-Marie Losier-Cool
Preceded by	Sharon Carstairs
Succeeded by	Marjory LeBreton
Minister of State for Social Development
In office September 10, 1982 – June 29, 1984
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Minister	Lloyd Axworthy John Roberts
Preceded by	Jean Chrétien
Succeeded by	Judy Erola
Minister of State (Without Portfolio)
In office September 22, 1981 – September 9, 1982
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Bryce Mackasey (1974)
Succeeded by	Roch La Salle (1984)
Canadian Senator from Vancouver South
In office August 19, 1975 – March 2, 2007
Nominated by	Pierre Trudeau
Appointed by	Jules Léger
Preceded by	Arthur Laing
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Personal details
Born	Jacob Austin (1932-03-02) March 2, 1932 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Profession	Lawyer

OBC ribbon

Jacob Austin PC CM OBC (born March 2, 1932) is a former Canadian politician and former member of the Senate of Canada. He was appointed to the upper house by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on August 8, 1975 and represented British Columbia. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving senator.

Life and career

Austin was born in Calgary, Alberta. Prior to entering the Senate, Austin had careers as a lawyer and as a senior civil servant. He graduated from the University of British Columbia (BA, LLB) and Harvard Law School (LLM). In the 1950s, Austin was a legal partner of Nathan Nemetz, who later served as chief justice of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Nemetz recruited Austin to join the Liberal Party.

In the early 1960s, Austin's political career began when he served as executive assistant to Arthur Laing while he was Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources. While he was in Ottawa, Paul Martin Sr. asked him to serve on the legal team that negotiated the Columbia River Treaty on behalf of the government.

Austin's only attempt to win an election was as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Kingsway in the 1965 federal election, at which time it was an open seat. He came second to Grace MacInnis, who held the constituency on behalf of the New Democratic Party.

In 1970, he was appointed deputy minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and was part of the first Canadian trade mission sent to the People's Republic of China. He also played a key role in the establishment of Petro-Canada and Expo 86 in Vancouver.

In 1974, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed Austin to be his chief of staff. In 1975, on Trudeau's recommendation, Governor General Jules Léger appointed him to the Senate. During Pierre Trudeau's final mandate as prime minister, Austin served as a Minister of State in the cabinet from 1981 to 1982 and then Minister of State for Social Development until Trudeau's retirement in 1984. He returned to the Cabinet of Canada in 2003 when Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed him Leader of the Government in the Senate, in which capacity he served until the Liberal defeat in the 2006 election. He took mandatory retirement from the Senate on March 2, 2007, his seventy-fifth birthday.

He received the Order of the Aztec Eagle from the Government of Mexico in 2000. He was also inducted into the Order of British Columbia in 2010.

He has three daughters: Barbara, Edith and Sharon.

External links

• Government of Canada Privy Council Office - Office of the Leader of the Government in the Senate Archived 2004-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
• Jack Austin – Parliament of Canada biography