Having spent almost 40 years in the financial services industry, Joe Oliver has found it a difficult task to express his key political message in 20 words or less.

The pitch that the Conservative Party of Canada’s candidate in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence delivers when going door to door is to give Toronto a more powerful voice in the federal government and to make the streets safer.

“Sometimes when you are in a really competitive business environment, you can come off less caring than you really are,” says Oliver in a soft-spoken voice. “Some people may think that the Conservatives don’t care in some cases. Our polices just help people in a different way; throwing money at problems isn’t always the solution.”

When canvassing for votes, the challenge becomes to relay these policies to voters quickly and effectively, says Oliver, the former president and CEO of the one-time Investment Dealers Association of Canada. (The IDA merged with Market Regulation Services Inc. this past summer to form the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.)

“Even if the nature of the communication is very short, you cannot afford to be superficial,” Oliver says. “You need to know a lot more than you have time to say.”

Oliver made the decision to enter politics early in 2007. Due to retire from the IDA in June 2007, Oliver received a phone call from the former minister of International Trade, Tom Hockin, in March 2007, asking him to run for office. He was nominated for his candidacy in April 2007.

Having chaired the International Council of Securities Associations in 2000 and the Canadian Securities Institute from 1995 to 2001, learning to knock on doors and shake hands with voters face-to-face was a shift from the world of finance he was used to, Oliver says.

“I used to say investment banking prepared me for canvassing, but only partially,” says Oliver, with a chuckle. “That’s what makes it interesting.”

Twenty thousand door-knocks later, he continues to remain optimistic about his ability to win, regardless of his opponent’s 20-year track record. His main opponent, Liberal candidate Joe Volpe, has been in office since 1988. “It’s difficult to win, but it is winnable,” he adds.

If the Conservatives — and Oliver — win, he hopes to assist incumbent Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in creating the highly debated national securities regulator, which will unify all the securities commissions across the country.

Oliver first began his journey into the financial services industry after completing his MBA at Harvard University in 1970. Prior to Harvard, Oliver had completed an undergraduate degree in law at McGill University in Montreal, where he was born and raised.

“I didn’t want to be one of these people who said they got into Harvard and decided not to go,” says Oliver. “I don’t think there was anyone in Quebec with a law and business degree at the time. It was an opportunity to give me a competitive advantage when moving into corporate law with a major firm.”

After completing his MBA, Oliver got caught up with the “greed and glory” of Wall Street. He was hired as an investment banker by Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in New York. As the line about salaries in the investment banking during those days was “Double in three and triple in five,” Oliver knew he had chosen the right field.

“It was the thrill of making the deal,” he says. “The numbers were big and you were very important to the companies you were working for, whether it was taking them public or raising money for debt or equity issues.”

Oliver then accepted Merrill’s offer to move to Toronto in 1971 to become a manager at the Canadian investment dealer Merrill had acquired in 1969, Royal Securities. He stayed with Merrill until 1982, when he was offered a senior partner position at the former Nesbitt Thomson, which was bought out by Bank of Montreal in 1987, becoming BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc

Needing a change, Oliver then decided to leave Nesbitt Burns in 1991 to build his experience in the regulatory sector; he was hired as the executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission. This experience later gave him the foundation for running the IDA from 1995 to 2007.

Oliver says that the success he’s had throughout his career boils down to becoming a perpetual student more than anything else: “I’ve always felt you really need to work hard and learn the key elements in any field. As a neophyte to politics, I went to every training session available. My goal is to know as much as everyone else in the room.”