Jacob "Jack" Austin (born March 2, 1932) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and former member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. He was appointed to the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

on August 8, 1975 and represented

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving senator.

Life and career

Austin was born in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta. Prior to entering the Senate, Austin had careers as a lawyer and then as a senior civil servant. In the 1950s, Austin was a legal partner of

Nathan Nemetz Nathaniel Theodore (Nathan) Nemetz, (September 8, 1913 – October 21, 1997) was a Canadian lawyer and judge. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he moved with his family to Vancouver when he was 10. He received a BA from the University of British ...

who later served as Chief Justice of British Columbia. Nemetz recruited Austin to join the Liberal Party.Kelly Korbin, "A lifetime in the public eye: Retiring senator shares high points; his hopes for Canada", ''Jewish Independent Online'', February 10, 2007 In the early 1960s, Austin's political career began when he served as executive assistant to

Arthur Laing Arthur Laing, (9 September 1904 – 13 February 1975), a Canadian politician, was actively involved with the BC Liberals, but his primary achievements were federally as a Liberal member of parliament. He served in the cabinets of prime mini ...

while he was Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources. While in Ottawa he was asked by

Paul Martin Sr. Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin (June 23, 1903 – September 14, 1992), often referred to as Paul Martin Sr., was a noted Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the father of Paul Martin, who served as 26th prime minister of Canada fro ...

to serve on the legal team that negotiated the

Columbia River Treaty The Columbia River Treaty is a 1961 agreement between Canada and the United States on the development and operation of dams in the upper Columbia River basin for power and flood control benefits in both countries. Four dams were constructed under ...

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 but was defeated by

Grace MacInnis Winona Grace MacInnis (née Woodsworth; July 25, 1905 – July 10, 1991) was a socialist Canadian politician. She was the first woman from British Columbia elected to the House of Commons of Canada, as well as the first wife of a former ...

of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

. 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He also played a key role in the establishment of

Petro-Canada Petro-Canada is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, with Suncor shareholders rece ...

and Expo 86 in Vancouver. He was appointed chief of staff to Prime Minister

in 1974 and was appointed to the Senate by Trudeau in 1975. He served as a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

from 1981 to 1982 and then Minister of State for Social Development until Trudeau's retirement in 1984. He returned to the

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the Ca ...

in 2003 when Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

appointed him Leader of the Government in the Senate, where he served until the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

defeat in the 2006 election. He reached the age of 75 on March 2, 2007, and is retired from the senate. He was given the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...

by the Mexican Government in 2000.Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 135, No. 8
He was also inducted into the Order of British Columbia in 2010. He has three daughters: Barbara, Edith and Sharon.

References

External links

Government of Canada Privy Council Office - Office of the Leader of the Government in the Senate
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Jack 1932 births Canadian senators from British Columbia Jewish Canadian politicians Candidates in the 1965 Canadian federal election Liberal Party of Canada senators Living people Members of the Order of British Columbia Members of the Order of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Calgary Members of the 22nd Canadian Ministry Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 20th-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians