He was one of nine surviving children born to Bridget (née Bone) and Arthur Edward Cant; his father was a labourer.

He was a member of the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) from 1922, when he was recorded working as a labourer at Day Dawn.

[6] He was nominated to the position by AWU mining state secretary Charlie Oliver and the following year was appointed as an industrial officer, making appearances before the Court of Arbitration of Western Australia.

He also served on the Library Board of Western Australia from 1957 to 1958 and as an executive officer on the West Australian Trade Union Industrial Council in 1958.

Cant's maiden speech in the Senate was notable for its comparisons of the Menzies government to Hitler, Mussolini and Tsarist Russia.

[7] In the same year, he was one of five ALP officials who unsuccessfully sued Liberal Party state secretary Vivian Ockerby for defamation, alongside Joe Chamberlain, Keith Dowding, Arthur Fox, and Laurie Wilkinson.

[9] Cant played a significant role in the VIP affair of 1967 which proved politically damaging for the Holt government.