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Jack Austin (politician)

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The Honourable
Jack Austin
PC CM OBC
Austin in 2017
Leader of the Government in the Senate
In office
December 12, 2003 – February 5, 2006
Prime MinisterPaul Martin
DeputyFernand Robichaud
Bill Rompkey
WhipBill Rompkey
Rose-Marie Losier-Cool
Preceded bySharon Carstairs
Succeeded byMarjory LeBreton
Minister of State for Social Development
In office
September 10, 1982 – June 29, 1984
Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau
MinisterLloyd Axworthy
John Roberts
Preceded byJean Chrétien
Succeeded byJudy Erola
Minister of State (Without Portfolio)
In office
September 22, 1981 – September 9, 1982
Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau
Preceded byBryce Mackasey (1974)
Succeeded byRoch La Salle (1984)
Canadian Senator
from Vancouver South
In office
August 19, 1975 – March 2, 2007
Nominated byPierre Trudeau
Appointed byJules Léger
Preceded byArthur Laing
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Personal details
Born
Jacob Austin

(1932-03-02) March 2, 1932 (age 93)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political partyLiberal
ProfessionLawyer
OBC ribbon

Jacob Austin PC CM OBC (born March 2, 1932) is a former Canadian politician and former member of the Senate of Canada. He was appointed to the upper house by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on August 8, 1975 and represented British Columbia. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving senator.

Life and career

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Austin was born in Calgary, Alberta to Morris Austin and Clara Austin (nee Chetner). His family had a small corner store, the North Star Grocery, at 940 2nd Ave NW, in the Sunnyside neighbourhood. Austin grew up working in the store while attending Crescent Heights High School.

Prior to entering the Senate, Austin had careers as a lawyer, businessman and as a senior civil servant. He graduated from the University of British Columbia (BA, LLB) and Harvard Law School (LLM).[1] In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Austin was a legal partner of Nathan Nemetz, who later served as chief justice of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Nemetz recruited Austin to join the Liberal Party.[2]

Austin's political career began in 1963 when he served as executive assistant to Arthur Laing while he was Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources. While he was in Ottawa, Paul Martin Sr. asked him to serve on the legal team that negotiated the Columbia River Treaty on behalf of the government.[2]

Austin's only attempt to win an election was as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Kingsway in the 1965 federal election, at which time it was an open seat. He came second to Grace MacInnis, who held the constituency on behalf of the New Democratic Party.[2] After his defeat, Austin practiced commercial law in Vancouver and then pursued business interests in the mining sector.[3]

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. [2]

In 1974, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed Austin to be his chief of staff. In 1975, on Trudeau's recommendation, Governor General Jules Léger appointed him to the Senate, representing British Columbia. During Pierre Trudeau's final mandate as prime minister, Austin served as a Minister of State in the cabinet from 1981 to 1982 and then as Minister of State for Social Development until Trudeau's retirement in 1984. As Minister of State for Social Development, he chaired the cabinet's social development committee and was a member of the cabinet's priorities and planning committee. He returned to the Cabinet of Canada in 2003 when Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed him Leader of the Government in the Senate, in which capacity he served until the Liberal defeat in the 2006 election. He took mandatory retirement from the Senate on March 2, 2007, his seventy-fifth birthday.[4]

Austin played key roles in the development of Petro-Canada, the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada and the Canada Investment Development Corporation, as well as in ensuring the success of Expo 86 in Vancouver: he secured the federal government's construction of Canada Place, which served as the Canadian pavilion during Expo and is now a convention centre and cruise ship terminal.[5]

In 1980-81, Austin served as Liberal whip on the special joint committee on the Constitution, where he advocated for the inclusion of a Charter of Rights and the entrenchment of Aboriginal rights.[6]

Throughout his career, Austin maintained an interest in China and involvement in relations between the two countries. From 1993 to 2000, he was president of the Canada China Business Council, and was a key organizer of the 1994 Team Canada trade mission to China led by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, which included nine premiers, two territorial leaders and about 350 business executives.[7] [8]After Austin’s retirement from the Senate, he was appointed honorary professor and senior fellow at the University’s of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research.[9]

He also worked to advance Canada-Mexico relations, and was the inaugural Canadian co-convenor of the North American Institute (NAMI), a non-governmental organization founded in 1988 that brought together academics and government figures from Canada, the United States and Mexico. In the early 1990s, he was a participant in the Canada-Mexico Business Retreat, a group of mainly business figures. [10][11]

Austin received the Order of the Aztec Eagle from the Government of Mexico in 2000.[12] He was inducted into the Order of British Columbia in 2010[13] and into the Order of Canada in 2015.[14] He received honorary doctorates from the University of East Asia (now University of Macao),[15] the University of British Columbia,[16] Royal Roads University[17] and Simon Fraser University.[18]

He married Natalie Veiner Freeman in 1978 and has three daughters – Edith, Sharon and Barbara – from a previous marriage.[19]

In 2023, his memoir Unlikely Insider: A West Coast Advocate in Ottawa, co-written with his daughter Edith (Edie), was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.[20]


References

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  1. ^ "The Honourable Jack Austin PC, CM, OBC, QC, LLD (Hon.) | historyproject.allard.ubc.ca".
  2. ^ a b c d Kelly Korbin, "A lifetime in the public eye: Retiring senator shares high points; his hopes for Canada", Jewish Independent Online, February 10, 2007 "Welcome to the Jewish Independent Online". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  3. ^ Austin, Jack; Austin, Edie (2023). Unlikely Insider: a West Coast Advocate in Ottawa. Montreal Kingston London Chicago: McGill-Queen’s University Press. p. 51-56. ISBN 978-0-2280-1624-3.
  4. ^ Canada, Senate of. "Debates - Issue 73 - February 21, 2007". SenCanada.
  5. ^ Canada, Senate of. "Debates - Issue 73 - February 21, 2007". SenCanada.
  6. ^ Canada, Senate of. "Debates - Issue 73 - February 21, 2007". SenCanada.
  7. ^ "CCBC 5 at 50 Initiative". ccbc.com. Canada China Business Council. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  8. ^ Austin, Jack; Austin, Edie (2023). Unlikely insider: a West Coast Advocate in Ottawa. Montreal Kingston London Chicago: McGill-Queen’s University Press. pp. 204–209. ISBN 978-0-2280-1624-3.
  9. ^ "Institute of Asian Research Annual Report 07/08" (PDF). University of British Columbia. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  10. ^ Canada, Senate of. "Debates - Issue 73 - February 21, 2007". SenCanada.
  11. ^ Austin, Jack; Austin, Edie (2023). Unlikely insider: a West Coast Advocate in Ottawa. Montreal Kingston London Chicago: McGill-Queen’s University Press. pp. 242–251. ISBN 978-0-2280-1624-3.
  12. ^ Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 135, No. 8 Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Secretariat, Intergovernmental Relations. "Members of the Order of British Columbia: A–B - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  14. ^ "The Honourable Jacob Austin". The Governor General of Canada.
  15. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients". University of Macau. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  16. ^ "The Honourable Jack Austin, P.C., Q.C., O.B.C. | Graduation at UBC". graduation.ubc.ca.
  17. ^ "Hon. Jacob (Jack) Austin, P.C., C.M., O.B.C., Q.C." Royal Roads University. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  18. ^ "SFU 2017 Honorary Degree Recipients". www.sfu.ca.
  19. ^ Canada, Senate of. "Debates - Issue 73 - February 21, 2007". SenCanada.
  20. ^ "Unlikely Insider | McGill-Queen's University Press". www.mqup.ca.
[edit]
27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Sharon Carstairs Leader of the Government in the Senate
2003–2006 		Marjory LeBreton
22nd Ministry – Second cabinet of Pierre Trudeau
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
  Minister of State for Social Development
1982–1984 		 
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