One of the biggest questions for the financial industry in the wake of the resignation of federal Finance minister Jim Flaherty is the fate of the latest project to create a national securities regulator.

Flaherty stepped down on March 18, citing a desire to return to private life. Among other things, he has been a strong advocate for a national securities regulator, who pushed the issue to the Supreme Court of Canada, and has helped drive the current plan for a cooperative regulator after the Supreme Court rejected the initial bid.

Last year, B.C., Ontario and the federal government agreed to create a cooperative regulator, with the aim of launching it in mid-2015. The other provinces have all been invited to join, but so far, none have publicly agreed to sign on.

Following his resignation, both the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) and the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) issued statements praising Flaherty’s work on the national regulator issue.

CBA president, Terry Campbell, applauded Flaherty for his determination to establish a common regulator, noting, “Few others would have shown such tenacity as Minister Flaherty has over time on this issue.”

Campbell also stressed that the CBA continues to believe that “Canada needs a single national voice on the international stage.”

Similarly, Ian Russell, president and CEO of the IIAC, issued a statement noting Flaherty’s “dogged determination to see the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulator (CCMR) come to fruition. If this initiative is successful — and we are fully confident it will be — this will define Minister Flaherty’s tenure.”

“With his departure, the IIAC and Canada’s investment industry are hopeful that his replacement will demonstrate the same level of commitment to the CCMR,” Russell added. “We look forward to working with the new finance minister in achieving a successful outcome on this front and other issues of relevance to Canada’s investment industry.”

Flaherty’s rumoured replacement, Joe Oliver, is well acquainted with the issue. Before he entered public life, he headed the Investment Dealers Association of Canada — which was the industry’s combined self-regulatory organization and trade association, predecessor to both the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the IIAC. Prior to that, he was an investment banker.