Toronto/CMEDIA: Aiming to reportedly leave a mark on Canada’s Parliament for years to come, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to appoint new senaos — where legislators will be able to sit until the age of 75 — before he retires in March.
The selection process for the future senators is already underway and should be completed before his departure.
Following the prorogue of Parliament earlier this month, Trudeau announced that he will leave power after the Liberal Party chooses a new leader on March 9.
In a written response, Truseau’s Office confirmed that the advisory board for Senate appointments is at work to propose candidates for all vacancies.
With more than half of recent Senate appointments having ties to Liberal Party since 2016, Trudeau picked several high-profile Liberals.
Having long been critical of Trudeau’s choices of senators , the Conservative Party of Pierre Poilievre, which is leading in national polls, now fears that Trudeau-appointed senators will try to block their agenda in lieu of expected party win in the next election.
There were 22 vacancies in the Senate when Trudeau took power in 2015. So far, he has appointed 90 senators in total. Due to retirements, there will be 10 positions to fill as of Feb. 2.
In recent years, Trudeau appointed former federal Liberal MPs Rodger Cuzner and Nancy Karetak-Lindell to the Senate.
Former candidates from the Liberal Party of Canada were also nominated, namely Tracy Muggli in 2024, as well as Bernadette Clement and Michèle Audette in 2021.
In addition, he appointed Liberal donors and organizers such as Alberta’s Daryl Fridhandler (2024) and Ontario’s Toni Varone (2023).
Nevertheless, many senators appointed by Trudeau say they will continue to act in the same way they did under the current government, saying they are ready to defend certain key principles such as the protection of minority rights and regional interests.
