Background
Hardie was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Hardie was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.
He attended post secondary education at Notre Dame College.
After finishing college he moved to the Northwest Territories and managed Associate of Science Hodgson"s trading post in Yellowknife during 1948/1949. Hardie got his start in politics by serving on Yellowknife municipal council from 1948 to 1950. Hardie was elected to the Council of the Northwest Territories in the 1951 Northwest Territories general election as part of the first three elected members returned since 1905.
He served the Mackenzie North constituency for three years until he vacated it to run for federal politics.
In the 1953 Canadian federal election he ran in the new Mackenzie River federal electoral district as the candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada. Hardie ran for his second term in office in the 1957 Canadian federal election.
The minority government lasted less than a year forcing the 1958 Canadian federal election. The results of the Progressive Conservative landslide completely swept the Liberals with the exception of Hardie off the map west of Ontario.
In 1960 Hardie was diagnosed with cancer and took extended leave from the House of Commons.
He returned to the Commons after going into remission and served for several months. Hardie soon became ill again and toured his constituency one last time. Upon his return he was admitted to Ottawa Civic Hospital where he was bed ridden for over a month as he underwent a series of chest operations which he did not survive.
On the day of his death Diefenbaker paid tribute to Hardie calling him "a good man who will be remembered for his courage and abiding faith".
A Northwest Territories owned vehicle and passenger ferry was named in his honour, it is known as the M.V. Merv Hardie ferry and operated at the Fort Providence Mackenzie River crossing from 1972 to 2012, when it was replaced by the Deh Cho Bridge.
He served as a Member of the Northwest Territories Council from 1951 to 1953 and as a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 until his death in 1961. He served as a back bench member of the governing Liberal caucus. The Progressive Conservatives formed a minority government and Hardie became a very strong member of the official opposition becoming a frequent thorn in the side of the Diefenbaker government.