Canadian Senators Group

The Canadian Senators Group (French: Groupe des sénateurs canadiens) is a parliamentary group of senators in the Senate of Canada founded on November 4, 2019, by eight senators from the Independent Senators Group, two from the Conservative Party of Canada's Senate caucus, and one non-affiliated senator.[1] The group named Scott Tannas as its interim leader and Josée Verner as interim deputy leader, though the actual caucus leadership roles and role titles have yet to be announced.[2]

Canadian Senators Group

Groupe des sénateurs canadiens
Interim LeaderScott Tannas
Interim Deputy LeaderJosée Verner
FoundedNovember 4, 2019
Split fromIndependent Senators Group, Conservative Party of Canada
IdeologyNon-partisan
Technical group
Seats in the Senate
12 / 105
Website
canadiansenators.ca/home/

History

The caucus was formed on November 4, 2019.

In an interview with CTV News' Don Martin, Tannas admitted that there was no question that the motivation for him and at least several other senators to depart the ISG was a perceived lack of independence in the contentious spring 2019 legislation related to west coast oil tanker moratoriums and other oil and gas-related legislation.[2] Additionally, Tannas cited the concern that following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's radical overhaul of the Canadian Senate, there was the concern that the ISG, numbering 58 Senators, had become too large, and that a diversity of voices was needed in order to prevent a "tyranny of the majority."[2] In addition, in an effort to avoid "groupthink", CSG interim leader Senator Scott Tannas announced that the initial founding members of the group had agreed to cap membership in the group to no more than 25 members.[3][4] Also included among the reasons for the founding of a second, non-partisan, and independent Senate caucus was a perennially renewed effort to focus on regional issues, despite this notionally being the constitutionally-enshrined purpose of the Senate as a whole.[4][3]

Included among those decamping to the Canadian Senators Group was former ISG Senator Elaine McCoy, who previously served as the ISG's founding Facilitator (September 27, 2016 – September 25, 2017) prior to the selection of that group's current Facilitator Yuen Pau Woo.[5]

On November 18, 2019, two more senators joined the CSG: Percy Downe, formerly of the Progressive Senate Group and Senate Liberal Caucus; and Jean-Guy Dagenais, a Conservative. Downe said he still supported the Liberal Party but liked the "diversity of views" in the CSG; while Dagenais cited disagreements with the leadership of Andrew Scheer, particularly Scheer's social views and the "low importance" he placed on Quebec, as the reasons for his defection.[6][7][8]

Leadership
Interim Leader
Interim Deputy Leader

Membership
Name[1] Province (Division)[9] Former political affiliation Mandatory retirement date[5]
Doug Black Alberta Independent Senators Group 10 May 2027
Robert Black Ontario Independent Senators Group 27 March 2037
Larry Campbell British Columbia Independent Senators Group 28 February 2023
Jean-Guy Dagenais Quebec (Victoria) Conservative 2 February 2025
Percy Downe Prince Edward Island Progressive Senate Group 8 July 2029
Stephen Greene Nova Scotia (Halifax - The Citadel) Independent Senators Group 8 December 2024
Diane Griffin Prince Edward Island Independent Senators Group 18 March 2022
David Richards New Brunswick Non-affiliated 17 October 2025
Scott Tannas Alberta Conservative 25 February 2037
Josée Verner Quebec (Montarville) Independent Senators Group 30 December 2034
Pamela Wallin Saskatchewan Independent Senators Group 10 April 2028
Vernon White Ontario Conservative 21 February 2034

Former members
Name Province (Division) Former political affiliation Left caucus Reason
Elaine McCoy Alberta Independent Senators Group 29 December 2020 Died in office

See also

References
  1. Flanagan, Ryan (4 November 2019). "11 senators break away to form new Canadian Senators Group". CTV News. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  2. Martin, Don (4 November 2019). "Tannas on Wexit and Western Alienation". Power Play with Don Martin. CTV News. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  3. "New Senate group forms to push regional interests in a fractured Parliament". Red Deer Advocate. The Canadian Press. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. Jesse Snyder; Brian Platt (4 November 2019). "New Senate bloc looking to protect 'regional interests' could hamper Trudeau's efforts to pass legislation". National Post. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  5. "Senators List". Senate of Canada. August 25, 2019. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  6. Tasker, John Paul (18 November 2019). "Two more senators defect to upstart group, one citing Scheer's leadership". CBC News. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. Gilmore, Rachel (November 18, 2019). "Senator leaves Conservative caucus citing Scheer's socially conservative views". CTVNews.
  8. "Tory Senator Ditches Caucus Over Scheer's Views On Abortion, Gay Marriage". HuffPost. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  9. Juric, Sam (4 November 2019). "P.E.I.'s Diane Griffin named to Canadian Senators Group". CBC News. Retrieved 4 November 2019.


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