‘You’ll never believe it!’: Senator Greene reflects on his path to the Senate
Nova Scotia Senator Stephen Greene developed a passion for politics as a young boy watching U.S. President John F. Kennedy on TV.
Decades later, he ran twice for the Reform Party and held senior positions for party leader Preston Manning and former Nova Scotia premier Rodney MacDonald. His political work eventually led him to the Senate, where he has chaired the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization and served on the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, among others.
Ahead of his retirement on December 8, 2024, Senator Greene looks back on his extensive business and political career.
You were born in Montréal and you grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. At what point did you move to Nova Scotia?
I went to Nova Scotia to do a master’s degree at Dalhousie University. I had applied to universities across the country, but I picked Nova Scotia because I hadn’t been there. The summer before, I drove across the continent on a motorcycle, from Toronto to California, back up the coast to Vancouver and back across the Canadian landscape. I left on that motorcycle trip on the very day I got my licence. It was a crazy thing to do, but I did it. I like to joke that at the start of the trip I was a queasy rider, halfway through I was an easy rider — by the time I got home I was a sleazy rider!
Senator Greene smiles with his former boss Preston Manning, who was leader of the Reform Party. (Photo credit: Office of Senator Stephen Greene)
Your background is in the fisheries industry and the foreign service. How did you end up on this career path?
I got my first job at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. through a Canadian government program. I was a PhD student at Dalhousie University at the time and Canada had just declared a 200-mile fishing limit, which meant that the government took control over all fisheries within 200 miles of its coasts. My assignment in Washington was to write a report on how the U.S. made its own fisheries policies in the wake of this new limit. I interviewed all the seafood lobbyists — there were almost 1,000 of them at the time — and I wrote a report that was very well received.
When I returned to Canada, I reached out to all the seafood producers and asked if they needed help with their government relations in Ottawa. Somebody at H.B. Nickerson & Sons — the largest fishing enterprise on the East Coast — picked it up and I became the assistant to Peter Nicholson, who was the vice-president at the time.
What made you want to get into politics?
When I was 12 years old, I used to run home from school to watch President Kennedy’s press conferences on TV. I loved the previous president, Dwight Eisenhower, but as a 12-year-old boy, I found his press conferences boring. Then out came Kennedy with promises to change the world, strengthen democracy, keep the Russians out, et cetera. He was very charismatic.
In the early 1990s, Canada was racking up about $40 billion a year in deficits. The only party talking about seriously reducing that deficit was the Reform Party. I went to its founding convention in Winnipeg in 1992 to learn more, and one of the first people I met was Stephen Harper. I thought he was very bright, and he communicated well, so I decided to join the party. I ran in the 1993 federal election, and I won about 15% of the vote in Halifax.
After that, I went back to my job at Clearwater. Then I got a call from one of Preston Manning’s people about his chief of staff position. I didn’t realize they were considering me, so I put forward some names. They told me they were interested in me, and I jumped at the opportunity. I took a salary cut, and I was a single father at the time, but I strongly believed that Canada had to tackle its deficit, so for me it was worth it.
And then Mr. Harper became the prime minister, and he appointed you to the Senate in 2008. Tell us more.
It was a similar situation. At the time, I was working for Mr. MacDonald, and I had travelled to Ottawa with a couple of Nova Scotia cabinet ministers to meet with the federal Conservatives.
I was in the lounge of the House of Commons when Mr. Harper’s communications director approached me and said the prime minister wanted a word with me.
I went upstairs where Mr. Harper was finishing a national televised address. He then told me he was going to appoint new senators, and he asked me whom he should appoint. I gave him a list of eight or nine people, including Fred Dickson who was my longtime friend and political mentor. As I was getting ready to leave, Mr. Harper remarked that my name was not on the list. I told him I was happy to do anything the prime minister wished. He told me he wanted me to be a senator, but that I was not to tell a soul.
As soon as I got back to my hotel room I said, “Fred! You’ll never believe it!” The two of us were among 18 senators Mr. Harper appointed.
In 2021, you announced to the Senate Chamber that you had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Why did you decide to go public with your diagnosis?
I thought that it was becoming visible to others that something was wrong with me. I wanted to make a funny speech as a way of dealing with it.
I have also attended an event with a House of Commons MP to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and I hosted a roundtable discussion about the disease.
I should also mention that while Mr. Harper brought me to the Senate, the person who keeps me there is my wife, Shamimu Netonze. She has been my motivator, always looking after me. We’re together all the time, and I couldn’t be a senator without her support. I’m also grateful for Adelheid Ruppenstein, my trusted staffer who has been with me since my appointment. We’ve been through a lot together.
What will you miss most about the Senate?
The interesting debates and the committee work. Some of the Senate’s most important work is done through committees. We examine legislation in a much deeper way than in the House of Commons. We call more witnesses from many different sides of an issue. This is logical because Senate committees follow their own paths whereas the House of Commons committees follow the paths of their leaders and the Prime Minister’s Office. I will also miss socializing with my Senate friends.
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‘You’ll never believe it!’: Senator Greene reflects on his path to the Senate
Nova Scotia Senator Stephen Greene developed a passion for politics as a young boy watching U.S. President John F. Kennedy on TV.
Decades later, he ran twice for the Reform Party and held senior positions for party leader Preston Manning and former Nova Scotia premier Rodney MacDonald. His political work eventually led him to the Senate, where he has chaired the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization and served on the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, among others.
Ahead of his retirement on December 8, 2024, Senator Greene looks back on his extensive business and political career.
You were born in Montréal and you grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. At what point did you move to Nova Scotia?
I went to Nova Scotia to do a master’s degree at Dalhousie University. I had applied to universities across the country, but I picked Nova Scotia because I hadn’t been there. The summer before, I drove across the continent on a motorcycle, from Toronto to California, back up the coast to Vancouver and back across the Canadian landscape. I left on that motorcycle trip on the very day I got my licence. It was a crazy thing to do, but I did it. I like to joke that at the start of the trip I was a queasy rider, halfway through I was an easy rider — by the time I got home I was a sleazy rider!
Senator Greene smiles with his former boss Preston Manning, who was leader of the Reform Party. (Photo credit: Office of Senator Stephen Greene)
Your background is in the fisheries industry and the foreign service. How did you end up on this career path?
I got my first job at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. through a Canadian government program. I was a PhD student at Dalhousie University at the time and Canada had just declared a 200-mile fishing limit, which meant that the government took control over all fisheries within 200 miles of its coasts. My assignment in Washington was to write a report on how the U.S. made its own fisheries policies in the wake of this new limit. I interviewed all the seafood lobbyists — there were almost 1,000 of them at the time — and I wrote a report that was very well received.
When I returned to Canada, I reached out to all the seafood producers and asked if they needed help with their government relations in Ottawa. Somebody at H.B. Nickerson & Sons — the largest fishing enterprise on the East Coast — picked it up and I became the assistant to Peter Nicholson, who was the vice-president at the time.
What made you want to get into politics?
When I was 12 years old, I used to run home from school to watch President Kennedy’s press conferences on TV. I loved the previous president, Dwight Eisenhower, but as a 12-year-old boy, I found his press conferences boring. Then out came Kennedy with promises to change the world, strengthen democracy, keep the Russians out, et cetera. He was very charismatic.
In the early 1990s, Canada was racking up about $40 billion a year in deficits. The only party talking about seriously reducing that deficit was the Reform Party. I went to its founding convention in Winnipeg in 1992 to learn more, and one of the first people I met was Stephen Harper. I thought he was very bright, and he communicated well, so I decided to join the party. I ran in the 1993 federal election, and I won about 15% of the vote in Halifax.
After that, I went back to my job at Clearwater. Then I got a call from one of Preston Manning’s people about his chief of staff position. I didn’t realize they were considering me, so I put forward some names. They told me they were interested in me, and I jumped at the opportunity. I took a salary cut, and I was a single father at the time, but I strongly believed that Canada had to tackle its deficit, so for me it was worth it.
And then Mr. Harper became the prime minister, and he appointed you to the Senate in 2008. Tell us more.
It was a similar situation. At the time, I was working for Mr. MacDonald, and I had travelled to Ottawa with a couple of Nova Scotia cabinet ministers to meet with the federal Conservatives.
I was in the lounge of the House of Commons when Mr. Harper’s communications director approached me and said the prime minister wanted a word with me.
I went upstairs where Mr. Harper was finishing a national televised address. He then told me he was going to appoint new senators, and he asked me whom he should appoint. I gave him a list of eight or nine people, including Fred Dickson who was my longtime friend and political mentor. As I was getting ready to leave, Mr. Harper remarked that my name was not on the list. I told him I was happy to do anything the prime minister wished. He told me he wanted me to be a senator, but that I was not to tell a soul.
As soon as I got back to my hotel room I said, “Fred! You’ll never believe it!” The two of us were among 18 senators Mr. Harper appointed.
In 2021, you announced to the Senate Chamber that you had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Why did you decide to go public with your diagnosis?
I thought that it was becoming visible to others that something was wrong with me. I wanted to make a funny speech as a way of dealing with it.
I have also attended an event with a House of Commons MP to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and I hosted a roundtable discussion about the disease.
I should also mention that while Mr. Harper brought me to the Senate, the person who keeps me there is my wife, Shamimu Netonze. She has been my motivator, always looking after me. We’re together all the time, and I couldn’t be a senator without her support. I’m also grateful for Adelheid Ruppenstein, my trusted staffer who has been with me since my appointment. We’ve been through a lot together.
What will you miss most about the Senate?
The interesting debates and the committee work. Some of the Senate’s most important work is done through committees. We examine legislation in a much deeper way than in the House of Commons. We call more witnesses from many different sides of an issue. This is logical because Senate committees follow their own paths whereas the House of Commons committees follow the paths of their leaders and the Prime Minister’s Office. I will also miss socializing with my Senate friends.