{"id":789573,"date":"2026-07-09T02:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/789573\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T02:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:35:15","slug":"independent-senator-joins-conservative-caucus-a-day-after-carney-appointed-ally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/789573\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent senator joins Conservative caucus a day after Carney appointed ally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Independent Senator Jim Quinn is joining the Conservative caucus, Senate opposition leader Leo Housakos announced Wednesday.Brendan Burden\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The Conservative Senate caucus added a member to its ranks a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney moved to appoint one of his closest allies to the chamber. <\/p>\n

Leo Housakos, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, announced that independent Senator Jim Quinn is joining the Conservative Senate caucus. <\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Quinn\u2019s decades of public service, leadership and commitment to New Brunswick will make him a tremendous asset to our team,\u201d Mr. Housakos said in a statement on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

Mr. Quinn was appointed in 2021 under the system for non-partisan appointments set up by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau \u2013 a system Mr. Carney is now changing. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister officially dropped \u201cnon-partisanship\u201d as a criterion for Senate appointees. At the same time, he appointed veteran Liberal strategist Tom Pitfield, who was also his principal secretary, to the chamber.<\/p>\n

In addition to naming Mr. Pitfield to the Senate, Mr. Carney appointed Richard Martel, who, until Tuesday, was a Conservative MP, as well as New Brunswick\u2019s Dr. Rodney Ouellette and Manitoba\u2019s Geeta Tucker, a corporate executive.<\/p>\n

Carney scraps Trudeau-era non-partisanship policy as he appoints aide, Tory MP to Senate<\/a><\/p>\n

He pushed back at questions from reporters in Turkey on Wednesday regarding whether the appointment was a reward for Mr. Pitfield\u2019s role in the party\u2019s successful 2025 election campaign. <\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Mr. Carney said. <\/p>\n

He described Mr. Pitfield as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist with deep knowledge of technology. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe look at the Senate as a whole and what the competencies are \u2013 and obviously familiarity with government, familiarity with legislative processes and other things are helpful, but we want some core competencies in there as well,\u201d Mr. Carney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd where the Senate is more deficient and there are people who are willing to serve, I\u2019m very pleased that they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to his official biography, Mr. Quinn spent 23 years with the Canadian Coast Guard before joining the Privy Council Office \u2013 the civil servants entrusted with delivering on a prime minister\u2019s agenda. <\/p>\n

He worked in the machinery of government secretariat \u2013 the group inside the PCO focused on the organizational elements of government. <\/p>\n

He also held senior roles in other government departments and later became the president and chief executive officer of the Saint John Port Authority.<\/p>\n

Mr. Quinn was formerly a member of the Canadian Senators Group, one of several groupings of independent senators. <\/p>\n

Campbell Clark: Carney opens the Senate doors wider to partisans<\/a><\/p>\n

The system of groups sprang up after Mr. Trudeau, while Liberal leader, kicked all of the Liberal senators out of his caucus. The move was in response to the Senate expenses scandal. <\/p>\n

When he became prime minister, he set up a new appointments process as well. <\/p>\n

It included listing \u201cnon-partisanship\u201d as one of the criteria for appointment. He also established an independent advisory board to recommend people for Senate positions, in addition to applications being accepted from the public. <\/p>\n

Mr. Carney said he will still look to a board for recommendations but will be more precise with the candidates he is seeking and look for those whose areas of expertise align with the government\u2019s agenda. <\/p>\n

Since Mr. Trudeau\u2019s changes, all senators are appointed as independents but can join a recognized group if they like. <\/p>\n

There are four such groups in the Senate, as well as the Conservative caucus. There is also the Government Representative\u2019s Office, a group of six senators whose role is to shepherd government bills through the chamber. <\/p>\n

Senator Lucie Moncion, who is the facilitator of the Independent Senators Group, the largest in the Senate, said the chamber\u2019s independence remains crucial. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe merit-based appointment process has demonstrated the value of a chamber composed of individuals with a diversity of expertise, regional perspectives, and a solid commitment to public service, regardless of prior partisan affiliation,\u201d she said in a statement to The Globe and Mail. <\/p>\n

Ms. Moncion said people who have political backgrounds can fulfill their responsibilities in a manner consistent with a modern Senate. <\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, independence is reflected in how senators carry out their duties, approaching their work with integrity, impartiality, and a commitment to serving Canadians,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Senator Brian Francis, the leader of the Progressive Senate Group, said he is proud of the work being accomplished by its members. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the Prime Minister\u2019s prerogative to determine how to name senators; my focus is on continuing to work collaboratively with all colleagues on behalf of Canadians,\u201d he said in a statement to The Globe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Independent Senator Jim Quinn is joining the Conservative caucus, Senate opposition leader Leo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":["post-789573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}