Justice Minister and Conservative MP Rob Nicholson talks to Catherine Clark about his life Beyond Politics.
Rob Nicholson was born and raised in Niagara Falls, the eldest of six children. It was at elementary school when Mrs. Douglas, his teacher, explained the reasons for the fear surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. This introduced Rob to the world of politics. Nicholson, then a boy of only 11, felt so strongly about the issue that he even wrote a letter to then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and Diefenbaker wrote back. Rob was a Conservative for life.
After getting his BA in political science at Queen's, Rob earned a law degree at the University of Windsor and practiced law in Niagara Falls before running for office in 1984. Nicholson won with a large plurality and won again in 1988 but was defeated in 1993, despite being appointed to cabinet during the short tenure of Kim Campbell. In 2004, Rob decided to run again and won. In 2006, he was back in cabinet as minister for democratic reform, and in 2007 became justice minister.
The father of three children, Rob shares a unique perspective on the challenges of being a husband, father and cabinet minister.
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