Joe Oliver (politician)

Joseph "Joe" Oliver, PC (born May 20, 1940) is a Canadian politician who served as Minister of Finance from 2014 to 2015. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election[1] and represented the electoral district of Eglinton—Lawrence as a member of the Conservative Party until his defeat in the 2015 election. In 2017 Oliver was named non-executive Chairman of the Board of Echelon Wealth Partners, an independent, Canadian-owned and operated wealth management and capital markets firm.[2] In March 2019 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).[3]

For the former mayor of Toronto, see Joseph Oliver (politician).

The Honourable Joe Oliver PC
Minister of Finance
In office March 19, 2014 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Jim Flaherty
Succeeded by	Bill Morneau
Minister of Natural Resources
In office May 18, 2011 – March 19, 2014
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Christian Paradis
Succeeded by	Greg Rickford
Member of Parliament for Eglinton—Lawrence
In office May 2, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded by	Joe Volpe
Succeeded by	Marco Mendicino
Personal details
Born	Joseph Oliver (1940-05-20) May 20, 1940 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Golda Goldman
Residence	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	McGill University Harvard University

Early life and career

Oliver was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, to a Jewish family. His father was a dentist and his mother was a teacher. He grew up attending Congregation Shaar Hashomayim.[4] He is currently married to Golda Goldman and has two sons, David and Jeffrey.[5]

Oliver received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961 and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1964 from McGill University.[6] He received an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1970.[7]

Following his studies he became an investment banker with Merrill Lynch and then Nesbitt Thomson. He became executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission and was also named the CEO of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada.

Political career

He ran in the 2008 election, but lost in a close race to the longtime Liberal incumbent, Joe Volpe. In the 2011 election, he defeated Volpe to win the seat.[8]

Minister of Natural Resources

On May 18, 2011, Oliver was sworn in as the Minister of Natural Resources.[9] In June 2011, Oliver repeated Harper's campaign promise to support Quebec's asbestos industry, by claiming that chrysotile asbestos, a carcinogen, could be used "in a safe and controlled manner."[8] As Natural Resources Minister, Oliver also oversaw SNC-Lavalin's purchase of Atomic Energy of Canada.[8] Oliver has also defended pipeline projects for Canada's oil sands such as Keystone XL and the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines.[8] In a January 2012 open letter defending Keystone XL Oliver called Canadians who opposed the project "radicals" who "use funding from foreign special interest groups to undermine Canada’s national economic interest."[8] During his time as natural resources minister, the ministry's advertising budget grew from $237,000 in 2010-11 to $40 million in 2012-13.[8] Also under Oliver, the regulatory checks on the energy industry's super-projects such as Keystone were streamlined.[8]

Minister of Finance

On March 19, 2014, Oliver was appointed to replace Jim Flaherty as Minister of Finance.[10] In January 2015, Oliver announced that the budget would not be tabled until April, instead of the usual February to March, because of economic uncertainty caused by the rapid drop in oil prices.[11] On April 21, 2015, Oliver presented the federal budget, which projected a $1.4 billion surplus by taking $2 billion from the country's contingency fund.[12]

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, Canada was officially declared to be in a recession and fellow cabinet minister Jason Kenney, who unlike Oliver, was running in a safe riding, was the primary Conservative spokesperson on the economy.[13] Meanwhile, Oliver kept a low profile: he cancelled two speaking events at men's only clubs in Toronto, discreetly attended a G20 conference in Turkey, and focused on winning his riding.[13][14][15]

Attempted political comeback

Oliver announced in October 2016 that he was seeking the nomination of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in York Centre for the 2018 election. On January 15, 2017, Oliver lost the nomination to 36 year-old lawyer Roman Baber by a margin of 711 to 465 votes.[16]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election: Eglinton—Lawrence
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Marco Mendicino	27,278	48.89	+10.47	$155,849.60
	Conservative	Joe Oliver	23,788	42.64	-4.18	$183,256.52
	New Democratic	Andrew Thomson	3,505	6.28	-5.32	$114,205.95
	Green	Matthew Chisholm	799	1.43	-1.74	$217.60
	Libertarian	Ethan Buchman	308	0.55	–	–
	Animal Alliance	Rudy Brunell Solomonvici	114	0.20	–	$5,129.72
Total valid votes/Expense limit			55,792	100.00		$210,250.86
Total rejected ballots			328	0.58
Turnout			56,120	72.45
Eligible voters			77,463
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+7.32
Source: Elections Canada[17][18]

2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Joe Oliver	22,652	46.81	+7.56
	Liberal	Joe Volpe	18,590	38.42	-5.57
	New Democratic	Justin Chatwin	5,613	11.60	+3.18
	Green	Paul Baker	1,534	3.17	-5.17
Total valid votes			48,389	100.00
Total rejected ballots			302	0.62	+0.12
Turnout			48,691	68.02	+8.27
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+6.57

Source: Elections Canada

2008 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joe Volpe	19,133	43.99	-8.90	$46,582
	Conservative	Joe Oliver	17,073	39.25	+9.00	$82,193
	New Democratic	Justin Chatwin	3,663	8.42	-3.07	$4,729
	Green	Andrew James	3,629	8.34	+3.22	$6,136
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,498	100.00	$82,294
Total rejected ballots			219	0.50
Turnout			43,717	59.75
	Liberal hold		Swing		-8.95

Boards of directors

Oliver is on the board of directors of the High Arctic Energy Services, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and the Manning Centre.[19]

References

1. Election 2011: Eglinton—Lawrence. The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2011.
2. "Echelon Wealth Partners names Joe Oliver as chairman | Investment Executive". Investment Executive. 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
3. "Joe Oliver Appointed to the Board of Directors of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
4. "On being a Jewish cabinet minister in the Harper government". Jewish Tribune. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
5. "Eglinton Lawrence EDA - About Joe Oliver". www.cpceglintonlawrence.com. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
6. "JOE OLIVER, BA'61, BCL'64".
7. "The Honourable Joe Oliver". Archived from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
8. Kingston, Anne (5 September 2014). "The PM's latest secret weapon: Joe Oliver". Maclean's. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
9. Canada, Parliament of. "Member of Parliament Profile". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
10. Josh Wingrove, Steven Chase, Bill Curry And Shawn McCarthy (March 19, 2014). "New Finance Minister Joe Oliver enters with a whisper". The Globe and Mail.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. Canadian Press (15 January 2015). "Federal budget to be delayed until April in light of low oil prices". Maclean's. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
12. "Fact-checking Joe Oliver: Doing the math on budget 2015". Maclean's. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
13. Le Couteur, Mike; Monique Muise (17 September 2015). "Where's Joe Oliver? Finance minister says he's just been busy in his riding". Global News. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
14. Gillis, Charlie (3 September 2015). "Where's Joe Oliver? Why in Turkey, of course". Maclean's. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
15. "Joe Oliver in Turkey for G20 meeting during election campaign". CBC News. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
16. Staff, CJN (2017-01-16). "Joe Oliver loses Ontario PC bid to Roman Baber, Russian Jew". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
17. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Eglinton—Lawrence, 30 September 2015
18. Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits
19. "The Honourable Joe Oliver, P.C., Chair". Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Directors. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

External links

• Profile at Parliament of Canada
• Joe Oliver – Parliament of Canada biography
• Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Joe Volpe	Member of Parliament for Eglinton—Lawrence 2011–2015	Succeeded by Marco Mendicino
Political offices
Preceded by Christian Paradis	Minister of Natural Resources 2011–2014	Succeeded by Greg Rickford
Preceded by Jim Flaherty	Minister of Finance 2014–2015	Succeeded by Bill Morneau