Anthony Merchant

Merchant's family

Merchant is a 5th generation lawyer and the three Merchant sons are similarly all lawyers. Merchant’s father, grandfather, great grandfather, and great great grandfather were all lawyers in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. His father was killed in action towards the end of hostilities in WWII, just after Tony was born. Captain Evatt F.A. Merchant had attended the Nova Scotia Catholic University, St. Francis Xavier, and later met Tony’s mother, then Sally Smith at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Smith and Merchant families have long traditions in Nova Scotia and at St. FX. Later generations followed the example of Tony’s father, his Grandfather Smith, his uncle Adrian Smith, all of whom attended St. Francis Xavier. His father, Captain Evatt Francis Anthony Merchant, was a member of C Company of the The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (died 18 November 1944 and buried at Mierlo War Cemetery, the Netherlands). His mother, Maria Margharita "Sally" Merchant (d. 2007), was a television personality and political figure. He was raised by his mother as a single parent and became part of the Merchant political family in Saskatchewan. His maternal grandfather was Saskatchewan politician Vincent Reynolds Smith,later a judge, and his niece (sister's daughter) is television personality Amanda Lang. Tony’s father, Evatt graduated from law school at Dalhousie. Sally, also a Dalhousie graduate, whose father was a Dalhousie law graduate, and whose father in turn was also a Dalhousie law graduate practised in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia and his father before him read law and practised in Amherst, Nova Scotia. The Merchants and Smiths are prominent practising Catholics now spread into Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario, although many Merchants and Smiths remain in Nova Scotia. He is a part of a law driven Kennedy-esque Saskatchewan political family. Tony, his mother, and grandfather, all served in the Saskatchewan legislature. Two of his brothers-in-law were Federal Cabinet Ministers.His wife Pana is a member of Canada's senate (2002–present).

Early years

Merchant was born in 1944 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Tony was raised by his mother in a single parent home.

Tony has broad community service over the years in various sports associations, church organizations, the Austrian Edelweiss Club, the Assiniboia Club, the Cub Movement, the Saskatchewan Civil Liberties Association, the MS Society, and the Voice of the Handicapped.

He studied arts and law at the University of Saskatchewan and business administration at the University of Regina. He was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 1968, to the Alberta bar in 1976, to the British Columbia bar in 1977 and to the Arizona bar in 1987. He was also host for an open-line radio show in Saskatchewan and a freelance television interviewer with the CBC. In 1976 he was a candidate for the leadership of the provincial Liberal party. That post went instead to Ted Malone. Merchant ran unsuccessfully for the Canadian House of Commons in Regina East in 1979 and 1980.

Career

Merchant was named a Queen's Counsel in 1995. He served in the army and naval reserves. Tony is a retired Lieutenant in the Navy Reserve and served until he was 45. He also serves as Austrian consul for Saskatchewan and as the Dean of the Saskatchewan Consular Corps.

Merchant Law Group

Tony Merchant founded the Merchant Law in 1986; it has grown to 11 offices across Canada and an office in New York. He is senior counsel at Merchant Law Group LLP, which has offices across Canada including in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg. Several of the largest lawsuits in Canadian history have originated from Merchant Law offices, multi-Billion dollar class-action lawsuits concerning Celebrex/Bextra, Vioxx, 911 Fees, defective automobiles and shareholder class actions.

Merchant has worked as an agent for the Solicitor General of Canada and Attorney General of Saskatchewan. He is on two advisory boards within the legal profession. He was the Western Canadian Corporate Counsel for a number of national firms, Corporate Counsel to a range of Saskatchewan and Alberta corporations, assisted thousands of new Canadians on immigration issues, acts in the development of First Nations law, and acts extensively in the family law area and class and mass proceedings fields.

Cases

Merchant has been involved as counsel in cases argued at the trial level in Newfoundland Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, North Dakota, Montana, Oregon, and in the Northwest Territories, and trial and appeal cases in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Arizona, and before various administrative tribunals and cases in the Federal Court, The Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Residential schools

Merchant Law has major involvement in the residential school lawsuits. Merchant received $25 million from the federal government for his work on behalf of residential school survivors, leading to the $5-billion native residential schools settlement. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada confirmed he could also "earn up to $40 million in legal fees, as well as tens of millions more for sexual and physical claims that are being handled by a special adjudicator and for which the government will add 15 per cent in order to cover legal fees."

Awards

In 2007, Merchant was voted the best lawyer in Regina by the Prairie Dog Magazine. He was awarded the Queen’s Decoration 1976, the Canadian Long Service Medal 1984, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Decoration 2002, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal 2005, the Decoration of Honour in Silver by the Nation of Austria 2006, community service awards from the Knights of Columbus, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012. He also twice received awards from the Saskatchewan Action Committee for the Status of Women for exceptional contribution to the development of legal and political equality for women. Merchant was named a Queen’s Counsel in 1995. Merchant was awarded on two occasions Eagle Feathers by First Nations in recognition of work on behalf of First Nations and residential school victims, and in 2008 was made an Honorary Chief in a War Bonnet Adoption as a member of the Black Foot Confederacy, named in Cree Ash-pha-suoy meaning Flanking Warrior.

Publications

As a prominent lecturer and speaker, he has shared his advice at many speaking events across Canada. He has approximately 1,500 of his cases in leading law journals. Merchant’s recent legal publications and invitations to speak within the profession include:

Personal life

Merchant is married to Pana Merchant, a member of the Senate of Canada.