Regina lawyer and former Sask. MLA Tony Merchant dead at 81

Tony Merchant, a prominent Canadian lawyer, businessman and former politician, has died at the age of 81.

Merchant founded Merchant Law Group LLP in 1986, where he established himself as the leading class-action lawyer in the nation.

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Merchant was involved in numerous high-profile cases throughout his career. His most notable case ended in 2006, when the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was finalized. The $1.9 billion settlement is the largest in the history of Canada.

Representing thousands of former students, many saw Merchant’s work as being instrumental in forcing the federal government and churches to come to the table to bargain.

Doug Richardson, a friend of Merchant and fellow Liberal Party member, called Merchant’s legal work a major legacy.

“Probably no lawyer has contributed more to the legal profession. He has changed the law profession in terms of billing, and it has benefited from his energy,” Richardson said.

“He was a force on the political side. He helped contribute to a number of significant political wins. He saw lots of battles that went both ways, and was a supporter and confidant and friend of many prime ministers and leaders.”

Over the years, Merchant and his firm launched class-action lawsuits against corporate giants like Loblaws and Home Depot. Most recently, he launched a class-action against Ticketmaster over its pricing practices.

Politics

Born in 1944, Merchant was raised in Yorkton and obtained degrees from the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan. He was first elected to the Saskatchewan bar in 1968.

In 1975, he was elected as a Liberal MLA in the Saskatchewan Legislature, representing the riding of Regina Wascana. He served just one term, during which he tried unsuccessfully to lead the Liberal Party, losing the leadership race to Ted Malone.

He tried unsuccessfully to gain a federal seat in 1979 and 1980.

Merchant turned his focus on his legal career, leaving politics to his wife, Pana. She served in the Canadian senate from 2002 until her retirement in 2017.

Comfortable in both courtrooms and the boardrooms, Richardson said Merchant was a force to be reckoned with, especially in the early days of the residential school settlement.

“The deputy minister made the mistake of saying to us, ‘Do you think we could drag this out long enough that we bankrupt the Merchant Law firm?’ And I turned and I said to him, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. You clearly do not understand the tenacious nature of Tony Merchant. He will not give up on this cause.’ The justice department still thought that they could pursue a course, and in the end they were wrong in that course, but it was typical, I think, of people underestimating Tony,” Richardson recalled.

“They did not recognize that he was very loyal to this cause, and he was going to see it through to the end no matter what. And he did, successfully.”

Merchant received numerous awards over his lengthy career, including the Queen’s Decoration, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Decoration, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. He was named a Queen’s Counsel in 1995.

“He had a big heart for humans and animals – there’s no doubt about that – but there was a shyness about him,” Richardson said.

“People will be stunned to hear that, but if they didn’t know him they wouldn’t have recognized there was a shy nature about him. And yes, nothing cowed Tony. He was an indomitable force.”

Merchant is survived by Pana and their three sons, who are all lawyers themselves. His funeral has been scheduled for Monday.