Senators prepare for busy session with a dozen rookies and two new leaders in the mix
With Parliament’s return, Senate leaders are preparing for a “busy” new session, with two groups saying they plan to work collaboratively and without using “delay tactics” to help Parliament effectively pass legislation under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new government.
The 45th session of Parliament will bring at least two changes to Senate leadership and 12 new Senators, eight of whom are set to be sworn in on May 26 after Parliament is opened ahead of the May 27 Throne Speech, with the other four in the following days. This year, the speech will be delivered by King Charles III, not the governor general—making it the first time in almost 50 years that a Canadian Parliament has been opened by Canada’s monarch, with the last such speech being delivered by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.
The Senate’s current makeup has the opposition Conservatives sitting at 11, with the fewest members compared to the three other recognized groups in the Red Chamber. The Independent Senators Group (ISG) is the largest at 45, followed by the Canadian Senators Group (CSG) at 20, and the Progressive Senate Group (PSG) at 18. The 10 remaining Senators are unaffiliated, one of whom was only recently named to the Chamber in early March, and another three who act as the government representatives in the Red Chamber.
Senator Marc Gold (Stadacona, Que.) is set to remain as the government representative—a role he has held since 2020. He will be supported by Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Alberta), his legislative deputy, and Government Liaison in the Senate Iris Petten (Newfoundland and Labrador), a Government Representative Office spokesperson told The Hill Times. But Gold will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 on June 30, just days after the Chamber’s last sitting day on the calendar. Appointing Gold’s replacement is a decision that rests with the Prime Minister Mark Carney’s (Nepean, Ont.) office.
One face that will be missing from the Senate is long-serving senator and former leader of the opposition Don Plett, who retired from the Senate on May 14. Plett, who held the position from 2019 and is the founding president of the Conservative Party, was succeeded by Leo Housakos (Wellington, Que.), one of only 16 Senators left in the Senate appointed by then-prime minister Stephen Harper.
Housakos is also a long-time parliamentarian: he first became a Senator in 2008, serving a short stint as for the Senate Speaker in 2015, before then-prime minister Justin Trudeau appointed George Furey to the position soon after the Liberals swept to a majority government that fall.
In an email statement to The Hill Times, Housakos said his group’s focus “remains on diligently fulfilling our responsibilities as the official opposition in the Senate,” saying they are “committed to doing so in a collegial and constructive manner.”
The PSG has also has a fresh face at the top. Following last week’s internal group elections, Prince Edward Island’s Brian Francis was voted in as its new leader, taking over from Pierre Dalphond (De Lorimier, Que.), who was elected last year.
This makes Francis the first Indigenous Senator to lead a group in the Upper Chamber. Prior to being appointed to the Senate in 2018 by Trudeau, Francis served as the chief of Abegweit First Nation in P.E.I.—an experience that he said will inform how he approaches his new job.
“I don’t walk in front of them, I walk beside them,” he said of his colleagues in an interview with The Hill Times. “When I was a chief in my community … I empowered my people to do the best they could. And I will do my best to guide this group in a similar way, [with] humility, honesty, transparency, and so on.”
Francis also said he was feeling “a deep source of pride” to be the first Indigenous Senator in his new role.
“I carry this responsibility with humility,” Francis said. “My hope is that it opens doors for future generations, so that having Indigenous voices at the table where decisions are made becomes the norm, and not the exception.”
The addition of 12 new Senators could shake up the Senate’s current alignment, though it’s unknown at this time which groups will see increased membership among the new appointees—and the ISG still more than doubles the membership of the next closest group. Senator Scott Tannas (Alberta) remains leader of the CSG, and was not available for an interview.
Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain (De la Vallière, Que.), who has led the ISG since December 2021, said she expects her group will see more members from among the new Senators.
“I expect that others will be joining us,” Saint-Germain told The Hill Times. “We are a welcoming group … [with] great multidisciplinary expertise, and it’s always … important to offer the opportunity to the newcomers to join us.”
Similarly, Francis said he was pleased that the PSG’s membership had grown in recent years, and that the group is “always looking to add new members.” The group had nine members in 2020—enough to secure official party status—and grew to 14 in April last year, and has since added four more members.
“We feel that we will be very attractive to new Senators who come to the Senate, and we’ll certainly be reaching out to anyone who wants to take a look at our group,” he said.
But Saint-Germain said her group’s focus going into the new session will be on passing government legislation as “the main priority” and “duty,” adding that the legislative agenda will be clearer in the coming days.
“We are waiting for the Speech from the Throne,” she said. “That will give us great indications on the government’s legislative agenda.”
Saint-Germain also highlighted the importance of the Senate functioning in conjunction with the House without the use of “delay tactics.”
“What we see now in Canada and in the world—the challenges that we are facing—I have no doubt that each and every Senator is aware [and] is concerned about this situation,” she said. “[They] understand the importance for the Senate, now more than ever, to be able to scrutinize bills without delaying the government agenda.”
“I don’t believe in a Senate that would be a delaying institution and going against the plans of an elected government,” she continued. “We are a democracy. We are still a democracy. And we need to protect our democracy.”
Francis, who has been meeting with his group to prepare for the opening of Parliament, said he thinks the upcoming session is “going to be a busy session,” but said that the PSG is “looking forward to … getting through it,” with “collaboration” with other groups playing a “key” role.
“We all have to work together,” he said. “We’re like one big family, we all know each other, and we know we have to work together for the benefit of Canadians, and that’s what we do.”
When Parliament’s previous session was cut short when Trudeau called for prorogation on Jan. 6 for three months—announcing his resignation at the same time—a number of Senators’ personal bills, called public bills, were killed. Senators’ public bills, which are similar to private members’ bills introduced in the House, will need to restart their legislative process in a new Parliament, if Senators decide to reintroduce them this session.
ewand@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times
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