Maria Margharita "Sally" Merchant (October 1, 1919 – April 1, 2007) was a

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

television personality and political figure. She was the only Liberal MLA elected to represent

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

from 1964 to 1967. She did not seek re-election in 1967.

Life and career

She was born Maria Margharita Smith in

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

, the daughter of Vincent Smith, a Saskatchewan judge and former MLA for Yorkton. She received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and a B.Ed. from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. In 1941, she married

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Evatt Francis Anthony Merchant; he was killed in action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Her husband's brother was

Robert Thomas Peter Merchant The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

(1917–2011), a prominent Halifax businessman. She joined

CFQC-TV CFQC-DT (channel 8) is a television station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station has studios on 1st Avenue North and 23rd Street East in the Central ...

(later CTV) in Saskatoon in 1955 and went on to host a television interview show known as ''Sally Time''. From 1964 to 1967, she served as a Liberal MLA in the Saskatchewan legislature. In 1967, she was named to the Canadian delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. She served in the federal Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs from 1969 to 1983, and with the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

from 1983 to 1988. She lectured at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and the University of Saskatchewan. She died in Saskatoon in April 2007.

Children

Her son Anthony "Tony" Merchant is a fifth generation lawyer and served from 1975 to 1978 as a Liberal MLA in the Saskatchewan legislature. His wife,

Pana Merchant Pana Pappas Merchant (born April 2, 1943) was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Senate of Canada, Senator from the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. She held the position since her appointment to the Senate ...

, was a Liberal

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Saskatchewan from 2002 to 2017 under Prime Ministers Chretien, Martin, Harper, and Justin Trudeau. Her daughter Adrian Merchant married

Donald Stovel Macdonald Donald Stovel Macdonald (1 March 1932 – 14 October 2018) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and diplomat. Macdonald was a long-time Liberal party Member of Parliament and Cabinet minister. In the early 1980s, he headed a royal commission ( ...

in 1988. Adrian had been previously married to

Otto Lang :''see also Otto Lang (film producer) and Otto Lang (actor)'' Otto Emil Lang (born 14 May 1932) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. Life and career Lang was born in Handel, Saskatchewan. In 1961, he was appointed Dean of Law at the U ...

, with whom she had seven children: Maria (d. 1991), Timothy Lang, Gregory, Andrew, Elisabeth, Adrian, and

Amanda Lang Amanda Lang (born 31 October 1970) is a Canadian business journalist, and host of ''Taking Stock'', a weekly business news program on CTV, BNN Bloomberg and CP24. Previously, she was the host of ''Bloomberg North'' on Bloomberg TV Canada. La ...

. Both Macdonald and Lang were long term Liberal members of Parliament from Ontario and Saskatchewan respectively and both were long term members of the Cabinet of

Pierre Elliot Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

References

External links

Globe and Mail deaths
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Sally 1919 births 2007 deaths Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Canadian television talk show hosts People from Yorkton Women MLAs in Saskatchewan Deaths from cancer in Saskatchewan 20th-century Canadian women politicians Politicians from Saskatoon 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan