The Senate of Canada is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they compose the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Conservative Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Tories or simply the Conservatives, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, the latter being the successor of the Western Canadian–based Reform Party. The party sits at the centre-right to the right of the Canadian political spectrum, with their federal rival, the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada, positioned to their left. The Conservatives are defined as a "big tent" party, practising "brokerage politics" and welcoming a broad variety of members, including "Red Tories" and "Blue Tories".
Rodger Trueman Cuzner is a Canadian politician and diplomat who currently serves as a Senator for Nova Scotia in the Senate of Canada. He previously served as the Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Cape Breton—Canso and its predecessor, Bras d'Or—Cape Breton, from 2000 to 2019. For most of 2003, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister under Jean Chrétien, and served as Parliamentary Secretary for Employment, Workforce Development and Labour in the Justin Trudeau government. Between 2020 and 2023, Cuzner served as the Consul General of Canada to the United States (Boston).
Andrew James Scheer is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the leader of the Conservative Party and leader of the Official Opposition from 2017 to 2020.
Josée Verner, is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She also served as a minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper serving as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister for La Francophonie. On May 18, 2011, it was announced that she would be appointed to the Senate of Canada following the loss of her Commons seat in the 2011 federal election. She was formally appointed on June 13, 2011.
Elaine Jean McCoy was a Canadian politician from Alberta. She was a member of the Senate of Canada.
Larry W. Smith, CQ is a Canadian athlete, businessperson and member of the Senate of Canada. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from April 2017 until November 2019.
Donald Meredith is a Canadian Pentecostal minister and former politician. Meredith was appointed to the Senate of Canada on 18 December 2010 as a Conservative. He was expelled from the Conservative caucus on 17 June 2015, however, following allegations that he had groomed a teenager for two years, starting when the girl was 16. He was found guilty of ethics violations by the Senate ethics office in March 2017.
The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011. It was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008 federal election held on October 14, 2008. Its first session was then prorogued by the Governor General on December 4, 2008, at the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was facing a likely no-confidence motion and a coalition agreement between the Liberal party and the New Democratic Party with the support of the Bloc Québécois. Of the 308 MPs elected at the October 14, 2008 general election, 64 were new to Parliament and three sat in Parliaments previous to the 39th: John Duncan, Jack Harris and Roger Pomerleau.
Patrick Brazeau is a Canadian senator from Quebec. At the age of 34, he was and is the youngest member of the Senate during his appointment. From February 2006 until January 2009 he held the position of national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. Brazeau was expelled from the Conservative caucus following his February 7, 2013 arrest for domestic assault and sexual assault. On September 15, 2015, Brazeau pleaded guilty to simple assault and cocaine possession as part of a plea deal in which other assault charges were dropped, and he was acquitted of sexual assault.
Irving Russell Gerstein, is a Canadian businessman, politician, and a former Conservative member of the Senate of Canada. He was appointed on the advice of Stephen Harper to the Senate on January 2, 2009, and retired on February 10, 2016, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Leonidas Housakos is a Canadian politician who has served as the senator for Wellington, Quebec since January 8, 2009. A member of the Conservative Party, Housakos was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Housakos served as the speaker of the Senate for part of 2015.
The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, 2011, with the election of Andrew Scheer as Speaker, followed the next day with the Speech from the Throne. There were two sessions in this Parliament. On August 2, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and issue the writ of election, leading to an 11-week election campaign period for the 2015 federal election. Significant legislation adopted during the 41st Parliament included the Copyright Modernization Act, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, the Jobs and Growth Act and the Fair Elections Act.
Denise Leanne Batters is a Canadian politician who has served as a senator from Saskatchewan since January 25, 2013. She was briefly ousted from the national Conservative Party of Canada caucus from November 2021 to February 2022, after criticizing then-leader Erin O'Toole, but remained a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus.
Jean Lynn Beyak is a retired Canadian politician who represented Ontario in the Senate of Canada from January 25, 2013 to January 25, 2021. Initially appointed to the Senate as a Conservative on the advice of Stephen Harper, she sat as a non-affiliated (independent) senator after being removed from the Conservative caucus in 2017. Beyak was suspended from the Senate twice; a first time for posting letters to her website that were considered to be offensive to First Nations peoples, and a second time for failing to comply with mandated anti-racism training. Beyak announced her retirement from the Senate, effective immediately, on January 25, 2021.
The Canadian Group of the Canada-China Legislative Association (CCLA) is a non-partisan forum for the discussion of bilateral and multilateral issues facing the two countries. The CCLA was established in 1998 and promotes the exchange of information between Canadian parliamentarians, and the National Peoples' Congress of the People's Republic of China in order to encourage better understanding and closer ties between the two countries. There are annual bilateral meetings every fall, between National People's Congress members and the Canadian federal parliamentarians.
The Canadian Senate expenses scandal, also known as Duffygate, was a political scandal concerning the expense claims of certain Canadian senators which began in late 2012. Senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy, Mac Harb, and Pamela Wallin claimed travel and living allowance expenses from the Senate for which they were not eligible. Deloitte LLP was retained to provide the Senate with an independent examination of the expense claims. Duffy, Harb, and Wallin repaid ineligible amounts. Harb retired a few months into the scandal, and in November 2013, Brazeau, Duffy, and Wallin were suspended from the Senate without pay. Brazeau, Duffy, and Harb were criminally charged. On April 21, 2016, Duffy was acquitted on all charges. Charges against Harb were withdrawn and no charges were to be laid against Wallin. The scandal attracted much public attention, with as many as 73% of Canadians following it closely. Many said that the scandal impacted the 2015 Canadian general election.
The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on October 19, 2015, and thirty new appointees to its Upper House, the Senate of Canada. Parliament officially resumed on December 3, 2015, with the election of a new Speaker, Geoff Regan, followed by a Speech from the Throne the following day. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada was George Furey, who was appointed Speaker of the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to replace Leo Housakos, on December 3, 2015. On September 11, 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised Governor General Julie Payette to dissolve Parliament and issue the writ of election, leading to a five-week election campaign period for the 2019 federal election. Significant legislation adopted during the 42nd Parliament included the Cannabis Act, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, the Canada Infrastructure Bank Act, the Impact Assessment Act and Canadian Energy Regulator Acts, as well as the legalizing of medical assistance in dying and adding gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The Independent Senators Group is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. Established on March 10, 2016, the Independent Senators Group is committed to a non-partisan Senate and the modernization of the Upper House of Canada's Parliament. The Independent Senators Group is the largest parliamentary group in the Senate. Composed of independents not affiliated with any political caucus, members of the group work cooperatively but act independently.
