David Lee Emerson, (born September 17, 1945) is a Canadian politician, financial executive, and economist. He was formerly the Member of Parliament for the riding of Vancouver Kingsway. He was first elected as a Liberal and served as Minister of Industry under Prime Minister Paul Martin. After controversially crossing the floor to join Stephen Harper's Conservatives, he served as Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, followed by Minister of Foreign Affairs. Early life and business career Emerson was born in Montreal, Quebec. He attended the University of Alberta and obtained his Bachelor of Economics degree in 1968 and his Master of Economics degree in 1970. He then went on to Queen's University where he received his Ph.D in economics. In 1975, after working as a researcher for the Economic Council of Canada, Emerson moved to British Columbia and joined the public service. In 1984, he became deputy minister of finance. In 1986, Emerson was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Western & Pacific Bank of Canada. He transformed it into the Western Bank of Canada — the only regional bank to survive and prosper. Four years later, he returned as deputy minister of finance and was quickly promoted to deputy minister to the premier and president of the British Columbia Trade Development Corporation. From 1992 to 1997, Emerson was president and chief executive officer of the newly created Vancouver International Airport Authority. In 1998, Emerson was appointed president and chief executive officer of Canfor Corporation, a leading integrated forest products company and Canada's largest producer of softwood lumber. With 8,100 workers and annual revenues of $3.2 billion servicing 10% of the U.S. market, Canfor operates pulp and paper mills as well as 19 sawmills across British Columbia, two in Alberta and one in Quebec. Despite US duties and a higher Canadian dollar, Emerson managed to increase profits and raise share prices through a major acquisition deal and efficiency upgrades, which increased capacity by 30% while reducing production costs by 24%. In 2008, Emerson joined private equity firm CAI Capital Management as a senior advisor. Emerson's directorships included: Terasen Inc; Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada; vice-chairman of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives; Chair, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.; and chairman and director of Genus Resource Management Technologies Inc. Election history Bypassing the nomination process, Paul Martin appointed