Terry M. Mercer (born May 6, 1947) is a former Canadian Senator. A long-time fundraiser and organizer for the

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'' ...

, Mercer was appointed to the Senate representing Nova Scotia by Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

in November 2003, shortly before Prime Minister Chrétien's retirement. Mercer served as National Director of the Liberal Party during much of Chrétien's tenure as party leader. Mercer has been an administrator and fundraiser for numerous charitable organizations such as the Kidney Foundation of Canada,

St. John Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

, the Nova Scotia Lung Association, the YMCA and the Canadian Diabetes Association and is currently Past Chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Foundation for Philanthropy in Canada. Prior to entering the charitable sector, Mercer worked as Executive Assistant to Nova Scotia's Minister of Labour and Housing from 1974 to 1978. In February 2013, Mercer became a subject of criticism for having spent the most out of any senator in the past year. On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Mercer, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. The senators refer to themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even though they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. With the Senate Liberal Caucus facing losing official parliamentary caucus status in 2020 with a third of its caucus facing mandatory retirements on their turning age 75, Senator Joseph Day announced that the Senate Liberal Caucus had been dissolved and a new

Progressive Senate Group The Progressive Senate Group (french: Groupe progressiste du sénat) is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. It was formed on November 14, 2019, out of the now-defunct Senate Liberal Caucus, which had been expected to lose official pa ...

formed in its wake, with the entire membership joining the new group, including this senator. With Senator

Day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

's mandatory retirement in January 2020, on December 12, 2019, Senator

Jane Cordy Jane Marie Cordy (born July 2, 1950) is a Canadian Senator representing Nova Scotia and former teacher and administrator. Early life Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, she received a teaching certificate from the Nova Scotia Teachers College and a Bache ...

tweeted that her colleagues in the PSG had selected her as the new leader, ostensibly effective that same date. Additionally, she subsequently announced later that day Senator Mercer would be moving into the Whip/Caucus Chair role, that Senator would become the new Deputy Leader, and that the interim monikers were being removed at the same time. Senator Mercer retired on May 6, 2022, upon reaching the age of 75, as required by the constitution.

References

External links

*
Liberal Senate Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Terry 1947 births Living people Liberal Party of Canada senators Senate Liberal Caucus Progressive Senate Group Canadian senators from Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian politicians