Terry M. Mercer (born May 6, 1947) is a former

Canadian Senator 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 Bri ...

. 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 Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

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 ...

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 The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

organizations such as the Kidney Foundation of Canada, St. John Ambulance, the Nova Scotia Lung Association, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

and the Canadian Diabetes Association and is currently Past Chair of the

Association of Fundraising Professionals Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

' 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 Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

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 The Senate Liberal Caucus (french: Caucus libéral du Sénat), also known as the Senate Liberals (french: libéraux au Sénat), was, from 2014 to 2019, a parliamentary grouping in the Senate of Canada made up of independent senators who were indi ...

even though they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. With the

facing losing official

parliamentary caucus A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...

status in 2020 with a third of its caucus facing mandatory retirements on their turning age 75, Senator Joseph Day announced that the

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'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