News

Congratulations to the 2026 Aurum Award recipients, including Dalhousie Law School alumnus Clint Davis (LLB ’95). The Aurum Awards celebrate outstanding Dalhousie alumni who are making a difference in their communities and around the world.

This story originally appeared in the 2025 edition of Hearsay, the Schulich School of Law’s annual alumni magazine. 

Toronto’s financial district, where Clint Davis (LLB ’95) trades bonds and other debt instruments, is a long way from Goose Bay, Labrador, where he was raised. Despite the distance, one thing from home that remains close to his heart is his connection to Canada’s Indigenous people.

Brought up by his maternal grandparents, Davis’ Inuit heritage influenced his decision early in his career to apply his Schulich School of Law degree toward advancing Indigenous economic development and business.

“I’ve always been fascinated with financial capital and the rise of Indigenous participation in medium to large-scale projects. I’m also very interested in the resolution of land claims and how that’s creating wealth in communities and being managed,” he says. “As community wealth grows, we need more of our own people actively involved in the investment space.”

As a recognized national leader in Indigenous business, Davis is CEO of Cedar Leaf Capital Inc., Canada’s first majority Indigenous-owned investment dealer which he helped launch in October 2024. The company was created in partnership with Scotiabank, two Indigenous development corporations, and a First Nation to foster Indigenous participation in capital markets.

“More and more Indigenous communities are looking at ways to raise funds to participate in projects and there is a role for Cedar Leaf to act as a bridge between these communities and capital markets,” he says. “We think there are also great opportunities to support companies’ commitment to reconciliation as part of that procurement supply chain.”

Although he pursued a career in finance and economic development, he credits the skills he learned in law school for much of his success. It is where he developed research know-how, sharpened his ability to advocate, and learned how to interpret rules.

“Understanding the value of research when you’re building a business case or developing strategy or an operational plan, is vital, regardless of industry,” he says.

As a young boy, Davis never imagined a career in law or business. In the 1970s, Goose Bay was a small, isolated community, with access only by plane or boat. His parents were teenagers when he was born, so his mother’s parents stepped in to raise him. He grew up in a loving home where his grandfather was a hunter, fisherman, and trapper, while his grandmother raised 10 children. Neither had attended school beyond grade eight but both worked hard and valued education.

Davis excelled in math in high school so a guidance counsellor encouraged him to consider university. He applied to Acadia and was awarded a scholarship.

When he arrived in Wolfville to start his Business Administration degree, the first thing he noticed was the size of the trees. The tall maple and fir trees that lined the town’s streets stood in stark contrast to the small black spruce found in Labrador. He initially considered a career in banking until a professor recognized his proficiency in business law and suggested law school instead.

In 1992, Davis started at the Schulich School of Law and immediately felt like he belonged. Through the Dalhousie Indigenous Law Students Association, he organized panels and events and became involved in the Indigenous Bar Association. He enrolled in the Criminal Clinic and worked with a Nova Scotia Legal Aid lawyer for a semester. He was also inspired by an Indigenous law course taught by Bruce Wildsmith (’95), former legal counsel with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs, whose pursuit of Mi’kmaw access to natural resources and Treaty rights resulted in a clearer understanding of Aboriginal rights in Canada.

“I became really interested in the issues that were culturally significant to Indigenous people while at law school,” he explains. “I saw it as something beneficial for the country and for Indigenous people.”

After graduation, he worked for two years under the mentorship of Wayne Myles, K.C., in a general law practice at Benson Myles in St. John’s. “At law school I was given this advice: get your law degree, article, and get called to the Bar; and then you can officially be called a lawyer,” he says. “So, that’s what I did.”

He then joined the federal government and headed west where he worked as a senior advisor to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “British Columbia was a hotbed of Indigenous law,” he adds. “It was an exciting time to be there.”

After five years with the government, he left to further his education as a Canada-U.S. Fulbright scholar at Harvard University and obtained his master’s degree in public administration in business and government policy, before joining the Bank of Montreal soon after as the national director for Aboriginal banking. He later moved to TD Bank Group as vice-president of Indigenous banking, where he doubled the portfolio and developed the bank’s first Indigenous banking national strategy.

Davis also served as chair of the Board of Directors for the Nunatsiavut Group of Companies, an economic development corporation, and was president and CEO of the then Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. At the council, he worked hard to produce credible economic research showing that Indigenous people were not a drain on the economy, but rather net contributors.

Known for his strong technical understanding, business acumen, and ability to forge relationships with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, as well as non-Indigenous people, he is now using his decades of experience in finance and economic development to grow his own company. When he’s not at the trading desk in Toronto, he’s back in Ottawa where he lives with his wife and their three children.

As Davis looks to the future, he remains steadfast in his commitment to strengthen Indigenous communities.

“The law is vital to recognize the rights that we have within this country and creates that foundation for reconciliation which translates into opportunity and financial capital,” he says. “At Cedar Leaf, our goal is to support Indigenous economic participation, while empowering nations through meaningful relationships built on trust and respect.”

Learn more about Dalhousie's other 2026 Aurum Award recipients.