About Doug

Married to the Honourable Diane Finley for over 30 years, Doug was born in Exeter, UK in 1946. His parents quickly moved him to Scotland to ensure that he was “raised properly.” Doug attended the universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh and McGill. He emigrated to Canada in the late 1960s.

Doug had a successful career in various industries including aviation, agriculture and energy. Mr. Finley began his professional career at Rolls-Royce Canada, where he quickly rose through the ranks to become Director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development. He moved on to serve as President of Standard Aero and Senior Vice-President of AvCorp Industries. Later in his career, he was General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Fernlea Flowers in Southwestern Ontario. 

Doug first got involved in successful political campaigning with the Scottish Nationalists, and later pursued this passion vigorously. After running the 2003 Canadian Alliance by-election campaign, he signed on to train volunteers across the country for The Canadian Alliance. With the merger of the two national parties, he became the Campaign Manager of Stephen Harper’s successful Leadership campaign.

In March 2004, Doug was named Director of Political Operations of the newly-formed Conservative Party of Canada, and was the engineer behind the 2004 break-through in Ontario for the Conservative Party. He then successfully engineered and led the Conservative Party to victory through the 2006 and 2008 general elections as National Campaign Director and maintained a leadership role in 2011.

In August 2009, Doug Finley was appointed to the Senate, representing Ontario South Coast. He chose the regional designation of Ontario South Coast to reflect his particular interest in the area of southwestern Ontario along the north shore of Lake Erie.

He was a member of numerous international boards and the recipient of many honours including an Honourary Lifetime Member of the Ferry Command and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

After a courageous public battle with cancer, the Honourable Michael Douglas (Doug) Finley, died in Ottawa, Ontario, on May 11, 2013, age 66. Too soon.

He will always be remembered as an avid soccer fan, “the most hyper-partisan, Grit-hating thug”, a staunch defender of free speech, a generous mentor, a loyal friend and a true one-of-a-kind.