Donald Oliver was the first black male to sit in the Senate and the second black Canadian appointed to the chamber.
19 Facts About Donald Oliver
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Donald Oliver is descended in part from African-American slave refugees who were resettled by the British in Canada from the United States after the War of 1812.
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Donald Oliver is the nephew of Canadian opera singer Portia White, politician Bill White and labour union activist Jack White, and the cousin of political strategist Sheila White.
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Donald Oliver was born to Helena Isabella and Clifford Harlock Donald Oliver in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
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Donald Oliver's maternal grandmother Izie Dora White was born in Nova Scotia, descended from black refugees who went to Canada from the United States during the War of 1812.
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Donald Oliver attended local schools before his undergraduate studies at Acadia University, where he graduated with a degree in philosophy in 1960, and law school at Dalhousie University.
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Donald Oliver practised law in Halifax, Nova Scotia as a partner in the firm Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales from 1965 to 1990, and subsequently at two other law firms for a total of 36 years, primarily in civil litigation.
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Donald Oliver taught at Dalhousie University Law School as a part-time professor for 14 years, and taught law courses at Technical University of Nova Scotia and Saint Mary's University.
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Donald Oliver has served as a federal vice-president of the party and as a director of its fundraising wing, the PC Canada Fund.
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Donald Oliver served for years as Constitution Chairman and member of the Finance Committee for the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, and is a former Vice-President of that Party,.
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Donald Oliver was appointed to the Senate at the recommendation of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, September 7,1990.
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Donald Oliver served as a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, and as the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committees on Transport and Communications and Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.
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Senator Donald Oliver was Co-chair of the Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct for Parliamentarians.
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Donald Oliver has worked on a number of Private Members' Bills, including a bill to amend sections of the criminal code dealing with stalking and, more recently, a bill to address the issue of spam.
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Donald Oliver was named Speaker pro tempore of the Senate of Canada, March 4,2010.
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Donald Oliver retired from the Senate November 16,2013, when he attained age 75.
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On December 28,2019, Governor General Julie Payette announced that Donald Oliver had been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.
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Donald Oliver was appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia in 2020.
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Senator Donald Oliver is an honorary patron with Crossroads International.