James S. Cowan (born January 22, 1942) is a Canadian lawyer, a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from Nova Scotia from 2005 to 2017, and was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 2008 to 2015 and leader of the Independent Liberal caucus until June 15, 2016. Cowan was a lawyer and a partner at the legal firm

Stewart McKelvey Stewart McKelvey is a Canadian law firm based in Atlantic Canada, of which it is the largest law firm in. Founded in 1990 as Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales following the merging of multiple Atlantic-based law firms, It now holds six offices, with ...

from 1967 until 2020. He retired from the senate on January 22, 2017, having reached the mandatory retirement age for senators.

Education

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree and Bachelor of Law degree from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, where he was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

fraternity. He received his Master of Laws degree in 1966 from the London School of Economics.

Nova Scotia politics

In November 1985, Cowan announced he would seek the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, but was defeated by Vince MacLean at the February 1986 leadership convention.

Senate

He was appointed to the Senate on the advice of prime minister Paul Martin on March 24, 2005 as a

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

Senator. In 2008, he was appointed

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada In Canada, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (french: Chef de l'opposition au Sénat) is the leader of the largest party in the Senate not in government. Even though the position's name is very similar to the Leader of the Opposition ...

In 2012, it was reported that Cowan and other Senate leaders allowed Senator

Joyce Fairbairn Joyce Fairbairn (November 6, 1939 – March 29, 2022) was a Canadian senator and was the first woman to serve as the leader of the Government in the Senate. Early life and education Born in Lethbridge, Alberta on November 6, 1939, Fairbairn w ...

to continue voting on legislative matters for four months after she was declared legally incompetent due to dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease.

Leader of the Independent Senate Liberal Caucus

On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Cowan, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. The Senators continued to refer to themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even if they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. Liberal senators reaffirmed Cowan as their leader in 2014 through internal elections. At the time that Trudeau removed Cowan and his fellow Liberal Senators from the Liberal caucus, Cowan's daughter Suzanne served as a senior advisor to Trudeau. When the Liberal Party formed government following the 2015 federal election, new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not appoint Senator Cowan as Government Senate Leader. The position was replaced with the Representative of the Government in the Senate and assigned to independent Senator Peter Harder leaving Cowan as leader of the Independent Liberal caucus."Justin Trudeau names seven new senators"
''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', March 18, 2016. Cowan stepped down as Liberal Senate Caucus leader on June 15, 2016. He retired from the Senate upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on January 22, 2017.

Family

Samuel Rettie is Cowan's great-great uncle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Jim 1942 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Dalhousie University alumni Schulich School of Law alumni Lawyers in Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the Order of Canada