Commonwealth: Canada‘s most infamous and well-known attorney, Tony Merchant, passed away at 81. Tony Merchant, known as the “class-action king,” left a storied and contentious record that profoundly influenced Canada’s legal history, both positively and negatively. His half-century-long career included some of the country’s most prominent and sweeping class-action lawsuits.
Blockbuster legal settlements, particularly those involving his firm representing former students of Canada’s residential schools, informally immortalized Merchant’s name. His win on the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement in 2006 was historic. The settlement was the federal government agreeing to settle with claimants to pay out almost $2 billion, one of Canada’s biggest class-action bargains in history. It was a move in the right direction regarding the admission of historical injustice done to Indigenous peoples, and Merchant’s service as a law advocate was at the core of the success.
Several years ago, Merchant’s company represented another blockbuster case on behalf of plaintiffs who had sued Ticketmaster in a class-action suit. The suit was for deceptive ticket prices and sales. The case resolved earlier this year in a $6-million settlement, again vindicating Merchant’s reputation for working for large corporations while bringing consumers large settlements.
Despite all his professional achievement, Merchant’s career had controversy surrounding it. Throughout his long career as an attorney, he was in the headlines more than he was not, sometimes for successfully trying cases in court and sometimes for scandals that had been following him. Representing Saskatchewan MLA Colin Thatcher sparked the biggest scandal of his life. Merchant stood up for Thatcher, initiating a protracted and intense custody dispute with his ex- wife, JoAnn Wilson, over their child. Merchant was simultaneously criminally charged when Wilson was murdered for attempting to set up Thatcher’s daughter’s entry into his control. He was later convicted of criminal mischief based on his actions. Thatcher himself was ultimately convicted of murdering Wilson, in one of Canadian legal history’s most infamous cases.
Despite the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, which drew Merchant widespread acclaim, it was not without controversy. His handling of the cost of legal fees and the magnitude of the settlement fell under professional criticism and condemnation on the basis of ethics and responsibility in class-action suits. However, co-workers labelled him as a man who thrived under pressure, was calm under fire, and was driven by a passion for his clients.
Merchant’s reputation did not stop at the courthouse. He was a figure of public prominence in Saskatchewan and widely known as a figure whose name evoked strong opinion and whose influence on the province’s legal life could not be avoided. He was, for one, a courageous and unyielding lawyer, willing to confront powerful institutions. For others, he was a charismatic figure who dared to challenge the boundaries of professional practice and popular imagination.
During his career in service, Merchant was awarded several awards for his public and law service. They include the Queen’s Decoration, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Decoration, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1995, an award to lawyers showing exceptional merit and contribution in the legal service.
Other than bar success, Merchant was a family man and a role model to the future generation of lawyers. Merchant also left his wife, Pana Merchant, and three sons—each of whom chose to carry on the family tradition and become a lawyer. The family as a group is one of Western Canada’s most recognized legal dynasties.
Tony Merchant’s passing marks the end of an era of Saskatchewan jurisprudence. His life, with his celebrity cases, controversy, and tenacity, revolutionized class-action suits in Canada. Loved or hated for his forthrightness, either way, the legacy and impact of Merchant as a source of precedents for settlement and the Canadian justice system will forever be etched in Canadian legal annals.
