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March 28, 2014
A brand new portfolio
Canada gets its first Jewish minister of finance.
DAVID LAZARUS CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
Joe Oliver became Canada’s first Jewish finance minister last week. He took his oath of office in a discreet March 19 mini Tory Cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall, which gave one of the country’s most important posts to a man who made his name on Bay Street, but is a relative political neophyte in Ottawa.
Oliver, who turns 74 in May, succeeds Jim Flaherty, who stepped down the previous day from the Cabinet post he held for eight years. Flaherty had been reported to be facing health issues over the last year.
Oliver, who represents the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence, is one of three Jewish MPs on Parliament Hill. The others are Liberal Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal) and Conservative Mark Adler (York Centre).
“It’s a great day,” was all that Oliver reportedly said as he arrived for his swearing-in. There was no press conference afterward.
In a statement issued later that day, he said, “I’m honored that Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper has appointed me to continue on our low-tax plan for jobs and growth as Canada’s minister of finance. I am firmly committed to continuing our Conservative government’s steady course of creating jobs and growing the economy in all regions of Canada. Although our economic fundamentals are strong, we must protect our gains in the face of global economic uncertainty.”
“Our government remains focused on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for all Canadians,” said Harper in a statement. “Mr. Oliver, Mr. Rickford and Mr. Holder bring with them a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience, and I am confident that they will deliver results and provide strong leadership in these important portfolios.”
On hand for the swearing-in were Harper, Gov. Gen. David Johnston, MP Greg Rickford (Kenora), who took over as natural resources minister, Oliver’s previous post, and Ed Holder (London West), who became minister of state for science and technology.
Oliver was first elected in May 2011, defeating Liberal incumbent and former Cabinet minister Joe Volpe by several thousand votes. He was quickly named natural resources minister, succeeding Christian Paradis, and spent much of the last three years focused on energy issues, including supporting the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The finance appointment represents a promotion within Cabinet.
Born and raised in Montreal to a dentist father and teacher mother, Oliver earned arts and civil law degrees at McGill University, was called to the Quebec Bar, and then earned a master’s of business administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He went on to a 40-year career in the financial sector as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch, executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission, and as chief executive officer of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada. He also served as chair of the advisory committee of the International Council of Securities Associations and as chair of the Consultative Committee of the International Association of Securities Commissions.
Oliver has been a strong supporter of Israel and has spoken and been active in the Jewish and general communities, including as a board member at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital and as chair of the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada. He has visited Israel six times, including three trips as natural resources minister. His latest came in January, when he accompanied Harper on the latter’s first visit to the Jewish state, at which time Oliver took part in meetings and roundtable discussions with Israeli business leaders on bilateral issues involving technology and innovation.
Oliver is married to Golda Goldman and the couple has two sons, Jeffrey and David.
– For more national Jewish news, visit cjnews.com.
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