Scott Tannas

The Honourable Scott Tannas
Leader of the Canadian Senators Group
Incumbent
Assumed office November 4, 2019
Deputy	Dennis Patterson Rebecca Patterson
Preceded by	Position established
SenatorfromAlberta
Incumbent
Assumed office March 25, 2013
Nominated by	Stephen Harper
Appointed by	David Johnston
Personal details
Born	(1962-02-25)February 25, 1962 High River,Alberta,Canada
Political party	Canadian Senators Group(since 2019)
Other political affiliations	Conservative Party of Canada(2013–2019)
Spouse	Taryn McCormick
Children	4
Profession	Finance executive

Scott Tannas(born February 25, 1962) is aCanadian senatorand, since November 5, 2019, leader of theCanadian Senators Group,aparliamentary caucus.

Tannas is the former President/CEOand founder ofWestern Financial Group(formerly Hi-Alta Capital Inc.), an insurance brokerage, life insurance and banking company headquartered inHigh River,Alberta,Canada.Tannas was elected as a senator-in-waiting in the2012 Alberta Senate nominee election,and appointed to the Senate following the retirement of SenatorBert Brownon March 22, 2013.

Outside of politics, Tannas runs the Alberta-based Western Investment Company of Canada, a private equity firm.

Early life and education

Tannas was born inHigh River,Alberta,Canada on February 25, 1962. He is the son ofDonald Tannas,a school teacher/principal and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, serving as Deputy Speakerand Christine Tannas, a nurse.

Tannas has spent the majority of his life in High River, except for a 2-year period, where his parents served with theCanadian International Development AgencyinUganda.

Tannas attended and graduated from École Senator Riley School in 1979. Tannas also worked the local dance club scene as a DJ and was known for his sound system and light show. At the age of 26, Tannas got a job in the tourism industry working at theBanff Springs Hotel.

Tannas attended both Mount Royal College (now calledMount Royal University), and theUniversity of Calgary.While attending university, Tannas met Taryn McCormick, the daughter of Michael James Sr and Gweneth Helen McCormick, whose family started the Riley & McCormick Western Wear family in 1901.

Businesses and career

After leaving college, Tannas stayed in theCalgaryandBanffarea working in the tourism industry and taking side jobs to build up capital. Tannas had accumulated enough capital to move back to his hometown of High River and purchased Hi-Alta Agencies, an established insurance firm in town, which had been operating since 1905.

In May 1996, Hi-Alta changed its name to Western Financial Group to allow for expansion outside of Alberta.In 2001, Western Financial Group's insurance division, WFG Agency Network Inc., became the largest insurance broker network in western Canada. That same year, Tannas started The Western Communities Foundation,a non-profit organization created to support the communities in which Western Financial Group operates. In January 2003, Tannas, along with the board of directors at Western Financial Group, created their own bank: Bank West, which took in over $1 million in deposits in its first day of business.In 2003, Tannas was awardedErnst and Young's Prairies Entrepreneur of the Year for Professional/Financial Services.

As of 2021, Tannas runs the Western Investment Company of Canada while serving as a senator.He is also an honorary board member of SOS Children's Villages - Canada.

Political career

Tannas' first venture into politics was when he served as campaign manager forKen Hughes,theProgressive ConservativeMP forMacleod,in the1993 federal election.

In 2012, Tannas stood as a candidate inAlberta's Senate nominee election,as a Progressive Conservative.He placed second out of three available positions, and was named a "senator-in-waiting". Following the retirement of SenatorBert Brown,Tannas was appointed to theSenate of Canadaon March 22, 2013. On his appointement,Prime MinisterStephen Harpersaid that Tannas was supportive of the government's efforts atSenate reform,including imposingterm limitson senators.In 2017, Tannas said he intended to serve no more than ten years in the Senate: "For me and only me…I think hanging around longer than 10 years, I’m not going to add any more value."

On November 4, 2019, Tannas became one of eleven senators who founded theCanadian Senators Group,a non-partisanparliamentary groupin the Senate. At the same time, the CSG selected Senator Tannas as its interim leader.By late 2020, Tannas became the CSG's full-time leader.

Over the 2020–2021 winter holidays, Tannas travelled toHawaiidespite public health advice discouraging non-essential international travel during theCOVID-19 pandemic in Canada.Tannas said that he had followed all the rules and health protocols required to undertake international travel and that he would shortly be returning to Alberta.

Personal life

Tannas lives inHigh River, Alberta.He owns atimeshareproperty inHawaii.