Scott Brison

The Honourable
Scott Brison
MP PC
President of the Treasury Board
Assumed office
November 4, 2015
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Preceded by Tony Clement
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Kings—Hants
Assumed office
November 27, 2000
Preceded by Joe Clark
In office
June 2, 1997 – July 24, 2000
Preceded by John Murphy
Succeeded by Joe Clark
Personal details
Born (1967-05-10) May 10, 1967
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party Liberal (2003–present)
Other political
affiliations		 Progressive Conservative (1997-2003)
Spouse(s) Maxime Saint-Pierre (m. 2007)
Children 2
Alma mater Dalhousie University
Religion United Church of Canada

Scott A. Brison PC MP (born May 10, 1967) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia. Brison has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Kings-Hants since the 1997 federal election. Brison was originally elected as a Progressive Conservative but crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party in 2003. He served as the Minister of Public Works and Government Services from 2004 until 2006 in the Paul Martin government. He currently sits as President of the Treasury Board of Canada.

Brison has served as the Liberal Party's Finance Critic since September 2010. He is also a member of the Trilateral Commission. In 2005, he was named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) of Davos, Switzerland, as one of its "Young Global Leaders".[1]

Early life

Brison was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, the son of Verna Patricia (née Salter) and Clifford Brison, who ran a grocery store.[2][3] He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University. While there, he started and operated a successful business renting small fridges – he has jokingly referred to himself as a "fridge magnate".[4] Brison then worked in corporate sales for ten years.

Politics

He entered politics as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Nova Scotia riding of Kings—Hants in the 1997 election.[5] Brison was one of a handful of new PC "Young Turk" MPs (along with John Herron, André Bachand and Peter MacKay) who were considered the future youthful leadership material that would restore the ailing Tories to their glory days.

In July 2000, Brison resigned his seat so that PC leader Joe Clark could enter the House of Commons. In the interim, Brison was appointed co-chair of the Tories' Election Policy Platform Committee, and became vice-president of investment banking at Yorkton Securities in Toronto.

When the 2000 election was called in October, Clark stood for election in a Calgary, Alberta riding. Brison returned as the PC candidate in Kings—Hants, and was returned to Parliament.[6] In 2001, he served as the party's Finance and Industry critic, and was vice-chairman of the House of Commons Finance committee. Brison came out as gay in 2002, saying that he is "not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay."[7] He became the fourth sitting Member of Parliament to do so after Svend Robinson, Réal Ménard and Libby Davies. As well, he was the first openly gay MP to sit as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Scott Brison is a member of the Trilateral Commission.[8]

Progressive Conservative leadership bid

In 2003, following Clark's retirement, Brison ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives[9] on a platform of "new ideas", that consisted of Employment Insurance reform, more private involvement in health care, integrated defence strategy with the US, and socially liberal policies. At the leadership convention, his campaign was dealt a crucial blow by John Herron who defected to the MacKay camp. Despite gaining votes on the second ballot, Brison was eliminated by three votes and threw his support to Jim Prentice.[10] Prentice lost on the final ballot to Peter MacKay (who won with the support of David Orchard). He fought publicly with other members of his party, particularly Elsie Wayne, over their opposition to same-sex marriage.

Crossing the floor

On December 10, 2003, four days after Brison voted in favour of the PCs merging with the Canadian Alliance to form the new Conservative Party of Canada, Brison announced that he would cross the floor and sit as a Liberal MP.[11] He stated that he had reservations about the perceived dominance of former members of the more socially conservative Canadian Alliance in the new party. Brison was criticized for this move, however, especially because he had actively supported the merger when it was first proposed. Others had also pointed out that as Finance Critic, he had been outspoken in his attacks on Paul Martin who was Finance Minister; Brison was criticized as an opportunist for switching parties and accepting a position as parliamentary secretary. Brison claimed his enthusiasm for the merger had become discernibly lukewarm in the final weeks before the vote. He indicated that he would honour his prior commitment to support the proposal, but said that he would reconsider his allegiance once the results were announced.

Cabinet Minister

On December 13, 2003, he was appointed as a parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister[12] with special emphasis on Canada-U.S. Relations and sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. In the 2004 election, Brison was re-elected, his first victory as a Liberal.[13] On July 20, 2004, Brison was named to cabinet as Minister of Public Works in Martin's post-election shuffle.[14] In doing so, he became Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister.[7]

As the youngest member of cabinet, Brison also served on three cabinet committees – Treasury Board, Domestic Affairs, and Expenditure Review. Previously, he had served as Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance, been a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.

He is also a member of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group and has served as the vice-president of the Canadian group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union where he took part in conferences in Moscow and New York. He was also part of the Canadian delegation sent to two annual meetings of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

On November 4, 2015, he was appointed the Treasury Board President in Justin Trudeau's cabinet.[15]

Liberal leadership bid

Brison and Michael Ignatieff in Ottawa in 2010

On April 22, 2006, Brison entered the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.[16] His Liberal leadership platform emphasised both environmentalism and economic reform calling for a "green" platform that called for personal and corporate tax cuts to prompt business growth and curb pollution.[17] Brison won 4.0% of the vote on the first ballot with 192 delegates, leaving him in 6th place out of eight candidates.[18] He dropped out and threw his support behind Bob Rae.[19] When Bob Rae dropped out on the third ballot and released his delegates, Scott Brison opted to support the politically similar Michael Ignatieff. The final winner of the leadership convention was Stéphane Dion.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalScott Brison 33,026 70.74 +31.18
ConservativeDavid Morse 8,677 18.59 –18.04
New DemocraticHugh Curry 2,998 6.42 –13.61
GreenWill Cooper 1,569 3.36 –0.42
RhinocerosMegan Brown-Hodges 184 0.39 –
IndependentEdd Twohig 132 0.28 –
IndependentCliff James Williams 100 0.21 –
Total valid votes 46,686100.0   
Total rejected ballots 2020.43–0.07
Turnout 46,88870.56+8.80
Eligible voters 66,454
Liberal hold Swing +24.61
Canadian federal election, 2011: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalScott Brison 15,887 39.56 -4.62
ConservativeDavid Morse 14,714 36.63 +10.49
New DemocraticMark Rogers 8,043 20.03 -1.98
GreenSheila Richardson 1,520 3.78 -2.46
Total valid votes/Expense limit 40,164100.0   
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 2000.50+0.01
Turnout 40,36461.76+3.17
Eligible voters 65,355
Liberal hold Swing -7.56
Canadian federal election, 2008: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalScott Brison 16,641 44.18 -1.38
ConservativeRosemary Segado 9,846 26.14 -6.05
New DemocraticCarol Harris 8,291 22.01 +2.99
GreenBrendan MacNeill 2,353 6.24 +4.04
Christian HeritageJim Hnatiuk 528 1.40 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 37,659100.0   
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 1870.49+0.08
Turnout 37,84658.59-6.60
Eligible voters 64,593
Liberal hold Swing +2.34
Canadian federal election, 2006: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalScott Brison 19,491 45.56 -1.05
ConservativeBob Mullan 13,772 32.19 +2.07
New DemocraticMary Dewolfe 8,138 19.02 +1.33
GreenSheila Richardson 947 2.21 -1.41
MarijuanaChummy Anthony 436 1.02 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 42,784100.0   
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 1770.41-0.35
Turnout 42,96165.19+2.77
Eligible voters 65,898
Liberal hold Swing -1.56
Canadian federal election, 2004: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalScott Brison 17,555 46.61 +16.11
ConservativeBob Mullan 11,344 30.12 -19.42
New DemocraticSkip Hambling 6,663 17.69 +0.08
GreenKevin Stacey 1,364 3.62 –
Christian HeritageJim Hnatiuk 493 1.31 –
IndependentRichard Hennigar 242 0.64 +0.34
Total valid votes/Expense limit 37,661100.0   
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 2890.76
Turnout 37,95062.42
Eligible voters 60,801
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +18.56
Canadian federal election, 2000: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeScott Brison 17,612 40.29 -13.16
LiberalClaude O'Hara 13,213 30.23 -0.03
New DemocraticKaye Johnson 7,244 16.57 -10.57
AllianceGerry Fulton 4,618 10.56 -5.58
MarijuanaJim King 669 1.53
IndependentKenneth MacEachern 140 0.32
Natural LawRichard Hennigar 133 0.30 -0.28
CommunistGraham Jake MacDonald 85 0.19 -0.33
Total valid votes 43,714100.00
Canadian federal election, 1997: Kings—Hants
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeScott Brison 17,401 36.27 +16.04
LiberalJohn Murphy 14,515 30.26 -9.23
New DemocraticPhilip A. Brown 9,101 18.97 +13.97
ReformLloyd Schmidt 6,424 13.39 +0.57
Natural LawJames McLelland 278 0.58 -0.47
IndependentGraham Jake MacDonald 251 0.52
Total valid votes 47,970100.00

Personal life

It was announced in October 2005 that he and his partner Maxime Saint-Pierre, an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities, intended to marry.[20] They were married on August 18, 2007 in Brison's riding.[21] Their daughters, Claire Brison-St. Pierre and Rose Brison-St. Pierre, were born via a surrogate mother on February 21, 2014.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ "A generation of change" (PSF). World Economic Forum. 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3448600419/brison-hon-scott-b.html
  3. ↑ http://www.allenfh.ca/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2327882&fh_id=14321
  4. ↑ Lawrence Martin (3 November 2015). "Expect Brison to bring sunny ways to finance". The Gobal and Mail. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Brison victorious for Tories in Kings-Hants". The Chronicle Herald. June 3, 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 2001. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  6. ↑ "Brison headed back to hill after brief break". The Chronicle Herald. November 28, 2000. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  7. 1 2 "MP Scott Brison marries same-sex partner". CTV News. August 18, 2007. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  8. ↑ http://www.trilateral.org/download/file/TC_%20list_5-12%20(2).pdf
  9. ↑ "Brison 'ready to lead' Tories". The Chronicle Herald. January 31, 2003. Archived from the original on April 22, 2003. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  10. ↑ "MacKay crowned Tory leader". Ottawa Citizen. June 1, 2003. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  11. ↑ "Brison joins Liberals". The Chronicle Herald. December 11, 2003. Archived from the original on December 23, 2003. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  12. ↑ "Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation". Government of Canada. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Clear win for Brison". The Chronicle Herald. June 29, 2004. Archived from the original on September 27, 2005. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  14. ↑ "Brison gets hot potato". The Chronicle Herald. July 21, 2004. Archived from the original on July 23, 2004. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  15. ↑ "Full list of Justin Trudeau's cabinet 31-member cabinet includes 15 women, attempt at regional balance". CBC News. 2015-11-04.
  16. ↑ "Brison joins Liberal leadership race". CBC News. April 23, 2006. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  17. ↑ Whittington, Les (2006-04-23). "Brison set to go `green' in Liberal race: Will focus on environmental concerns". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2006-05-02. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  18. ↑ "Ignatieff leads after first ballot, but outcome still in question". Canada.com. December 2, 2006. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  19. ↑ "Rae gets Scott Brison support". canoe.com. December 2, 2006. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  20. ↑ "Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison mulls wedding bells". CTV.ca. 2005-10-08. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  21. ↑ "Brison first MP to wed under same-sex marriage law". CBC News. 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  22. ↑ Raphael, Michael (October 1, 2012). "Mitchel Raphael on cross-border babymaking and wives' last names". Maclean's Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Brison, St. Pierre welcome twin girls". Calgary Herald. February 24, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2015.

External links

29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet Post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Tony Clement President of the Treasury Board
2015-present		 Incumbent
27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet Post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Stephen Owen Minister of Public Works and Government Services
2004–2006		 Michael Fortier
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