Topic: Jim Prentice

James "Jim" Prentice, PC, QC (born July 20, 1956) is a Canadian lawyer, and politician. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was re-elected in the 2006 federal election and appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians. Prentice was appointed Minister of Industry on August 14, 2007, succeeding Maxime Bernier., and after the 2008 election became Minister of Environment on October 30, 2008, succeeding John Baird. On November 4, 2010, Prentice announced his resignation from cabinet.

Prentice was born to a large, blue-collar family in South Porcupine, Ontario near Timmins. The family then eventually moved to Alberta. His father Eric Prentice was a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1940s. Prentice was educated at the University of Alberta (where he became a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity) and Dalhousie University. He paid for his tuition by working as a coal miner in the summer months for seven years.

As a lawyer, he has specialized in physical property rights including relocations, environmental protection suits, and cases arising from restricted development areas. He also served as a Law Commissioner of the Indian Claims Commission of Canada.