List of current senators of Canada explained

This is a list of current members of the Senate of Canada (fr|Le Sénat du Canada), the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Unlike the members of Parliament in the House of Commons, the 105 senators are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.[1] Senators originally held their seats for life; however, under the British North America Act, 1965, members may not sit in the Senate after reaching the age of 75.

Seats are allocated on a regional basis: each of the four major regions receives 24 seats, with 9 remaining seats assigned to jurisdictions outside those regions. The four major regions are Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island), and the Western provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan). The seats for Newfoundland and Labrador (6), the Northwest Territories (1), Yukon (1), and Nunavut (1) are assigned apart from these regional divisions. The province of Quebec has 24 Senate divisions that are constitutionally mandated. In all other provinces, a Senate division is strictly an optional designation of the senator's own choosing, and has no real constitutional or legal standing. A senator who does not choose a special senate division is considered a senator for the province at large.[2]

, there are 97 sitting senators. Of the sitting senators: 42 are members of the Independent Senators Group, 19 are members of the Canadian Senators Group, 14 are members of the Progressive Senate Group, 12 are members of the senate caucus of the Conservative Party of Canada, and 10 are non-affiliated. 8 seats are currently vacant.[3]

Active senators have been appointed on the advice of three different prime ministers: Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper, and Jean Chrétien. Pierrette Ringuette is the longest-serving current senator; she was appointed on the advice of Jean Chrétien in 2002.

Current senators

See also: Lists of Canadian senators.

align=left class="unsortable"[4] NameSenate political affiliationwidth=10% Province (Division)Date nominated[5] width=10% colspan=2 Appointed on the advice ofwidth=10% Mandatory retirement datewidth=25% TitlesNon-affiliatedManitoba Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupNorthwest Territories Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupSaskatchewan Trudeau, J.Liaison (whip) of the Independent Senate GroupConservativeOntario (Toronto) HarperCanadian Senators GroupNova Scotia Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupQuebec (De Salaberry) Trudeau, J.Liaison (whip) of the Progressive Senate GroupConservativeSaskatchewan HarperProgressive Senate GroupNova Scotia (East Preston) Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupOntario (Centre Wellington) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Non-affiliatedQuebec (Repentigny) HarperCanadian Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupBritish Columbia Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupOntario Trudeau, J.ConservativeQuebec (Mille Isles) HarperIndependent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Deputy Facilitator of the Independent Senators GroupIndependent Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupSaskatchewan Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNova Scotia (Antigonish) Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupNova Scotia Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupQuebec (Victoria) HarperProgressive Senate GroupQuebec (De Lorimier) Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate Group LeaderIndependent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupNova Scotia Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario (Waterloo Region) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupPrince Edward Island (Charlottetown) ChrétienLiaison (whip) of the Canadian Senators GroupIndependent Senators GroupYukon Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupQuebec (Gulf) Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupPrince Edward Island Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupAlberta Trudeau, J.Non-affiliatedManitoba Trudeau, J.SpeakerIndependent Senators GroupQuebec (Bedford) Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupQuebec (Rigaud) Trudeau, J.Caucus Chair and Deputy Liaison (whip) of the Progressive Senate GroupCanadian Senators GroupQuebec (Kennebec) Trudeau, J.Non-affiliated Quebec (Stadacona) Trudeau, J.Representative of the Government in the SenateCanadian Senators GroupNova Scotia (Halifax — The Citadel) HarperDeputy Liaison (whip) of the Canadian Senators GroupIndependent Senators GroupBritish Columbia Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupOntario (Ottawa) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.ConservativeQuebec (Wellington) HarperOpposition Deputy Whip Independent Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupSaskatchewan Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNova Scotia Trudeau, J.Non-affiliatedAlberta Trudeau, J.Deputy Representative of the Government in the SenateIndependent Senators GroupQuebec (Shawinegan) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupPrince Edward Island Trudeau, J.ConservativeNova Scotia (Cape Breton) HarperConservativeNewfoundland and Labrador HarperConservativeNewfoundland and Labrador HarperConservativeBritish Columbia (Vancouver) HarperDeputy Opposition LeaderIndependent Senators GroupQuebec (De Lanaudière) ChrétienIndependent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Non-affiliatedManitoba Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Non-affiliatedManitoba Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupQuebec (Rougemont) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupQuebec (Inkerman) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupQuebec (The Laurentides) Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate GroupSaskatchewan Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupManitoba Trudeau, J.Caucus Chair of the Canadian Senators GroupIndependent Senators GroupQuebec (La Salle) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Deputy Leader of the Canadian Senators GroupIndependent Senators GroupQuebec (Grandville) Trudeau, J.Chair of Independent Senators Group DeliberationsNon-affiliatedNewfoundland and Labrador Trudeau, J.Liaison (whip) of the Government in the Senate ConservativeManitoba (Landmark) HarperOpposition LeaderConservativeNew Brunswick (Saint-Louis-de-Kent) HarperChair of the Conservative CaucusCanadian Senators GroupNova Scotia Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNewfoundland and Labrador Trudeau, J.Non-affiliatedNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupNew Brunswick ChrétienDeputy SpeakerCanadian Senators GroupPrince Edward Island Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupNew Brunswick Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupQuebec (De la Vallière) Trudeau, J.Facilitator of the Independent Senators GroupConservativeQuébec (De la Durantaye) HarperOpposition WhipIndependent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupAlberta Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupQuebec (Saurel) HarperIndependent Senators GroupAlberta Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupAlberta HarperLeader of the Canadian Senators Group.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.Canadian Senators GroupQuebec (Montarville) HarperCanadian Senators GroupSaskatchewan  HarperConservativeNewfoundland and Labrador HarperNon-affiliatedAlberta Trudeau, J.Progressive Senators GroupNewfoundland and Labrador Trudeau, J.Progressive Senate Group Deputy LeaderIndependent Senators GroupBritish Columbia Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupQuebec (Lauzon) Trudeau, J.Independent Senators GroupOntario Trudeau, J.

Standings

Members of the Senate of Canada may sit[6] as representatives of a political party if agreed by themselves and their party.
The current party standings in the Senate of Canada are as follows:

PartyBCABSKMBONQCNBNSPENLYTNTNUTotal
 32201410621110042
Canadian Senators Group 011144242000019
Progressive Senate Group 012024021101014
Conservative 101113110300012
Non-affiliated 020402100100010
Vacant 20003101000018
Total66662424101046111105

Appointment breakdown

align=left class="sortable"Prime Minister Term ISG CSGPSGCons. N-A TotalJean Chrétien1993–2003210003Stephen Harper2006–201506012119Justin Trudeau2015–present4012140975
Total421914121097

Upcoming retirements

Eighteen current senators are scheduled to retire before the end of 2026:

  1. Stephen Greene, December 8, 2024, Canadian Senators Group (Harper) - Nova Scotia (Halifax — The Citadel)
  2. Brent Cotter, December 18, 2024, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - Saskatchewan
  3. Nancy Hartling, February 1, 2025, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - New Brunswick
  4. Jean-Guy Dagenais, February 2, 2025, Canadian Senators Group (Harper) - Quebec
  5. Don Plett, May 14, 2025, Conservative (Harper) - Manitoba (Landmark)
  6. Marc Gold, June 30, 2025, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - Quebec (Stadacona)
  7. Judith Seidman, September 1, 2025, Conservative (Harper) - Québec (De la Durantaye)
  8. Marie-Françoise Mégie, September 21, 2025, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - Quebec (Rougemont)
  9. David Adams Richards, October 17, 2025, Canadian Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - New Brunswick
  10. Larry Smith, April 28, 2026, Canadian Senators Group (Harper) - Quebec (Saurel)
  11. Marilou McPhedran, July 22, 2026, Non-affiliated (Trudeau) - Manitoba
  12. Mohammad Al Zaibak, August 9, 2026, non-affiliated (J. Trudeau) - Ontario
  13. Donna Dasko, August 19, 2026, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - Ontario
  14. Bev Busson, August 23, 2026, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - British Columbia
  15. Elizabeth Marshall, September 7, 2026, Conservative (Harper) - Newfoundland and Labrador
  16. Paul Massicotte, September 10, 2026, Independent Senators Group (Chrétien) - Quebec (De Lanaudière)
  17. Raymonde Saint-Germain, October 7, 2026, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - Quebec (De la Vallière)
  18. Stan Kutcher, December 16, 2026, Independent Senators Group (J. Trudeau) - Nova Scotia

Longevity

Furthest year of retirement of existing senators, by prime minister

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Canadian Senate: Role, Powers & Operation. Makarenko, Jay. June 1, 2007. November 24, 2008. MapleLeafWeb. December 19, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081219143639/http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/canadian-senate-role-powers-operation. live.
  2. Web site: A Legislative and Historical Overview of the Senate of Canada. May 2001. November 24, 2008. Parliament of Canada. March 1, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210301175349/https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/Sen/committee/381/pub/legislative-e. live.
  3. Web site: Senators . July 11, 2023 . January 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170122100616/http://sen.parl.gc.ca/portal/canada-senators-E.htm#senate-standings-table . live .
  4. Web site: Parliament of Canada. Senators. 2023-07-14.
  5. Web site: Current Senators. Senate of Canada. 2022-04-08.
  6. Book: The Senate Chamber . 19 February 2019 . Senate of Canada . 1–2 . 18 November 2019 . November 6, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191106132338/https://sencanada.ca/media/26373/senateseatingplan.pdf . live .