Nicholas Taylor (politician)

The Honourable Nick Taylor
Senator from Alberta (Bon Accord, Sturgeon)
In office March 7, 1996 – November 17, 2002
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office 1986–1996
Constituency	Westlock-Sturgeon (1986–93) Redwater (1993–96)
Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
In office 1974–1988
Preceded by	Robert Russell
Succeeded by	Laurence Decore
Personal details
Born	Nicholas William Taylor (1927-11-17)November 17, 1927 Bow Island, Alberta, Canada
Died	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Margaret Davies (m. 1949)
Children	nine
Alma mater	University of Alberta
Profession	Businessman, geologist, engineer

Nicholas William "Nick" Taylor (November 17, 1927 – October 3, 2020) was a geologist, businessman and politician from Alberta, Canada.

Early life

Nicholas William Taylor was born November 17, 1927, in Bow Island, Alberta to Marie Louise Ancion and Frederick David Taylor, and was the eldest of five children. Taylor traveled to Medicine Hat for High School, and attended the University of Alberta completing his studies in geology and mining engineering in 1949. Later that year Taylor married Margaret Davies on October 1 and together had nine children.

Taylor worked as a geologist in the petroleum industry in Alberta during the 1950s and later started his own company Lochiel Exploration Ltd. in 1960. Lochiel Exploration would prove to be successful, branching out to several countries until it entered receivership in 1986 following the downturn in oil markets.

Political career

Taylor started his political career by running in the 1968 and 1972 federal elections in Calgary Centre as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was defeated both times.

Taylor served as leader of the Alberta Liberal Party from 1974 to 1988. Taylor defeated his opponent for Liberal leadership John Borger, a former Centre for the Calgary Stampeders and PhD in biochemistry. At the beginning of his leadership, the party was at its lowest point in history, where the last Liberal to serve in the Alberta Legislative Assembly, Bill Dickie of Calgary Glenmore, had crossed the floor to the Progressive Conservatives in 1969. During his time as Liberal leader, Taylor who was independently wealthy from the success of his oil exploration company Lochiel, donated significant sums to the party to keep it viable, with the Globe and Mail estimating the total above $100,000. Taylor was defeated at the 1988 Liberal Convention by Edmonton Mayor Laurence Decore, garnering only 18 percent support. Under Taylor's leadership the Alberta Liberal Party would split from the Liberal Party of Canada in 1976, after the Alberta Liberals received no funding from the federal party for the 1975 Alberta general election, with the federal wing instead supporting the Social Credit Party of Alberta in exchange for support in Parliament.

Taylor slowly rebuilt the party in the face of the federal Liberal government's unpopularity in Alberta and its implementation of such programs as the National Energy Program. In the 1986 Alberta general election, the Liberals made a breakthrough by winning four seats. Taylor himself was elected by over 500 votes in the newly created northern Alberta riding of Westlock-Sturgeon; he was re-elected there in 1989. In 1993, Taylor was elected by 1700 votes in the newly created riding of Redwater against incumbent PC MLA Steve Zarusky.

During his time in the Alberta Legislature, Taylor was known for his wit and banter with government members. On May 13, 1991, Taylor was ejected from the Legislature by Speaker David J. Carter for unparliamentary language following a resolution to congratulate Baltej Singh Dhillon, the first RCMP officer to wear a turban, was defeated. Taylor yelled "shame" at the government and called Speaker Carter "one of the crappiest speakers [I've] ever seen". Taylor apologized the next day. His banter led to two Premiers issuing "no-laugh" orders to their caucuses when Taylor would speak negatively about the Progressive Conservative government or Ministers.

Taylor was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Jean Chrétien in 1996 and served there until 2002, choosing Bon Accord and Sturgeon as his Senatorial constituency. Taylor was appointed to replace Bud Olson who was appointed as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Following his appointment, Taylor acknowledged his appointment as patronage following criticism from prominent Reform Party Albertans. Future Prime Minister and Member of Parliament Stephen Harper criticized the appointment, stating "Mr. Taylor's only real qualification to the Senate is that he was Liberal leader and had the audacity to continue to be Liberal leader during the period of the National Energy Program".

Later life

Following his mandatory retirement from the Senate at the age of 75, Taylor retired from politics. In 2019, Taylor testified before the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources in defence of Bill C-69, which amended the regulatory review process for energy projects.

Taylor died in Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary on October 3, 2020, at the age of 92.

Electoral record

Federal elections

Canadian federal election, 1968
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Douglas Harkness	16,977	47.07
	Liberal	Nicholas Taylor	16,676	46.24
	New Democratic	Margaret Jackson	2,413	6.69
Total			36,066	100.00

Canadian federal election, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Harvie Andre	22,669	53.30	+6.23
	Liberal	Nicholas Taylor	13,110	30.82	-15.42
	New Democratic	David Jones	5,538	13.02	+6.33
	Social Credit	Clifford Willmott	1,081	2.54	*
	No affiliation	Frank Cottingham	80	0.19	*
	No affiliation	Colin Constant	53	0.12	*
Total			42,531	100.00

Provincial elections

Alberta general election, 1993: Redwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Nicholas Taylor	6,429	51.38%
	Progressive Conservative	Steve Zarusky	4,582	36.62%
	New Democratic	Robert Tomkins	1,306	10.44%
	Natural Law	Geoff Toane	196	1.57%
Total valid votes			12,513
Rejected, spoiled and declined			22
Registered electors / Turnout			19,775	63.39%
	Liberal pickup new district.

External links

• Nicholas Taylor (politician) – Parliament of Canada biography
• Democracy Watch on the Canadian Senate
• Nicholas Taylor's obituary

Party political offices
Preceded by Robert Russell	Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party 1974–1988	Succeeded by Laurence Decore
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Preceded by New District	MLA Westlock-Sturgeon 1986–1993	Succeeded by District Abolished
Preceded by Michael Senych	MLA Redwater 1993–1996	Succeeded by Mary Anne Balsillie