Dan Christmas never knew what or where his journey would take him.

He just knew his father’s teachings would buoy him along the way — and that was going to be more than good enough.

The oldest of six children, Christmas often found himself in a leadership role in his Membertou-based family at a young age. He encouraged his younger siblings, gave a hand to his mother around the house when needed, and even joined his dad at his various work spots.

But when Christmas and his family were hit with the unexpected passing of their father, he was thrust into what would be his eventual full-time calling in life — leading — and he hasn’t looked back since.

“Getting in politics was really by accident,” Christmas says. “My dad never wanted me to get involved with politics because my grandfather was the Chief of Membertou for many years and my dad didn’t like what politics did for his father.

“So it was really out of economic necessity that I got involved. In my second year of university, when my dad passed away, I had to work to help out. So I dropped out and started as a band manager at the age of 19.

“My dad wanted me to finish university but I just never had a chance. So this wasn’t a path I had chosen but I was fortunate enough to be selected. I always say my first five years, from 76-81, that was my university training and that really shaped what was to come years later.”

What has developed, in fact, is a storied political career that will give Christmas a non-affiliated (independent) seat in the Canadian Senate, following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to alleviate the highly partisan nature of the “chamber of sober second thought.”

As a band council member and senior adviser for the Membertou First Nation for 19 years, Christmas earned his stripes on the national stage by helping to orchestrate one of the most noticeable economic turnarounds in Canada’s aboriginal community in the late 1990s.

With the band facing possible bankruptcy and a 95 per cent unemployment rate, Christmas played a key role with the Cape Breton First Nation and helped to develop the community’s work force, operating budget and infrastructure.

Today, they are often used as an example of financial sustainability and transparency.

The transformation, Christmas says, was “special” but the determination and positivity needed to overcome such a daunting task stemmed from years of following his late father’s lead.

“My dad was a war veteran and he was disabled in the war — he had a back brace and a leg brace and was partially paralyzed — but that never stopped him,” Christmas says, acknowledging also the constant work of his mother in keeping the family afloat.

“He was a very, very hard worker and he supplemented his income by being a very creative entrepreneur, given his situation. He would drive children to school, cut wood, he did a lot of gardening — he even had his own small store.

“So I think, just by watching him work so hard and by his sheer example of determination, the whole family picked up on his work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. That really shaped my childhood experience.”

Now that Christmas — who has received the National Excellence in Aboriginal Leadership Award and the Sparks Award from Novaknowledge, for forward thinking — is about to be officially sworn into the Senate in the coming weeks, he’s adamant that relations between the aboriginal community and Ottawa continue to improve, so the example of minorities like his father is not in vain.

“I think in the past we were very monocultural. There was only a certain type of person who was in leadership positions. But the reality is that Canada is very multicultural,” Christmas says, citing Wanda Bernard and Yuen Pau Woo as two fellow and notable senatorial appointments.

“Growing up, for me, was like looking in a mirror and not seeing yourself. But now a lot of people are being reflected positively in the Canadian landscape in many different sectors.

“So when I think of this appointment I really think that this is the time that we’ve found our place. We found our voice and we found recognition.

“It really reflects what Canada is made of and a certain part of Atlantic Canada in particular with the Mi’kmaw nation. Now we can bring that perspective and that voice, and show what we can do to build Canada.”