 Born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, he joined the Hudson's Bay Company in August 1978 and moved to Eskimo Point (later renamed to the original Inuit place name of Arviat).He subsequently lived in Coral Harbour, Igloolik, Hall Beach, Chesterfield Inlet, and Rankin Inlet, working with the Hudson's Bay Company.In 1982, Mason left the Hudson's Bay Company and worked in the social housing field in the eastern Arctic until 1992 when he entered the field of municipal politics.