Robert Douglas Nicholson PC KC (born April 29, 1952) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Niagara Falls in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2019 as a member of the Conservative Party.

During the 33rd Canadian Parliament, he served on the standing committees responsible for justice (vice-chairman), foreign affairs, national defence and transport.

[3] As with all of his caucus colleagues, save for Jean Charest and Elsie Wayne, he was defeated in the 1993 election, finishing third behind Pillitteri and Mel Grunstein of the Reform Party.

[4][5] This statement comes after Richard Colvin spoke before a parliamentary committee stating that he warned for a full year that detainees Canadian troops handed over to Afghan forces faced torture before the government began to monitor them.

“London, The Hague and Canberra [Australia] are deeply concerned about the absence of solid legal protections for detainees, which – in the age of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib – imperils domestic support for the Afghanistan mission,” said the memo of December 4, 2006, written by diplomat Richard Colvin.

[6][7] Amir Attaran also brought forward testimony in stark contrast to then Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan David Sproule's.

Nicholson's time as head of the Canadian Foreign Service was cut short when he was ejected from office on 4 November 2015 as Harper lost the 2015 election.

While the Conservatives were relegated to the Official Opposition after the 2015 election, Nicholson was re-elected and announced his intention to run for the interim leadership of the party.