Dennis Dawson

Dennis Dawson (born September 28, 1949) is a Canadian politician and administrator. Dawson is a Canadian Senator and former Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. Dawson is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

The Honourable Dennis Dawson
Deputy Leader of the Progressive Senate Group
Incumbent
Assumed office December 12, 2019
Leader	Jane Cordy
Preceded by	Terry Mercer
Senator for Lauzon, Quebec
Incumbent
Assumed office August 2, 2005
Nominated by	Paul Martin
Appointed by	Adrienne Clarkson
Preceded by	Yves Morin
Member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert
In office 1977–1984
Preceded by	Albanie Morin
Succeeded by	Suzanne Duplessis
Personal details
Born	September 28, 1949 Quebec City, Quebec
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Liberal (until 2014) Independent Liberal (2014–2019) Progressive Senate Group (2019–present)

Born in Quebec City, Quebec, Dawson's first entry into politics was spending five years as a trustee on the Commission des écoles catholiques de Québec. After that, Dawson represented the riding of Louis-Hébert, Quebec in the House of Commons from 1977 to 1984. He is a former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Immigration.

In 2004, he ran in the federal election as a "star" candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Beauport but was beaten by Bloc Québécois candidate Christian Simard, losing by a ratio of nearly 2:1.

On August 2, 2005, Dawson was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin. He represented the Liberal Party of Canada in the Upper Chamber until Justin Trudeau's removal of Liberal Senators from the Canadian Liberal caucus in 2014.[1]

With the Senate Liberal Caucus facing losing official parliamentary caucus status in 2020 with a third of its caucus facing mandatory retirements on their turning age 75, Senator Joseph Day announced that the Senate Liberal Caucus had been dissolved and a new Progressive Senate Group formed in its wake,[2][3] with the entire membership joining the new group, including this senator.[2]

With Senator Day's mandatory retirement in January 2020, on December 12, 2019, Senator Jane Cordy tweeted[4] that her colleagues in the PSG had selected her as the new leader, ostensibly effective that same date.[4] Additionally, she subsequently announced[5] later that day Senator Mercer would be moving into the Whip/Caucus Chair role, that Senator Dennis Dawson would be become the new Deputy Leader, and that the interim monikers were being removed at the same time.[5]

He has two daughters, Cindy and Kathryn-Anne, and a son named Julian.

References

1. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-removes-senators-from-liberal-caucus-1.2515273
2. Tasker, John Paul (J.P.) (14 November 2019). "There's another new faction in the Senate: the Progressive Senate Group". CBC News Online. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
3. "One-time Liberal senators rename themselves as Progressive Senate Group". CTV News. The Canadian Press. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
4. Cordy, Jane (12 December 2019). "Thank you to @SenDayNB for his strong leadership during a time of change in the Senate. I wish him well in retirement. I am honoured that my colleagues in the Progressive Senate Group have elected me to represent them as their leader". Twitter. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
5. Cordy, Jane (12 December 2019). "I am very pleased to be working with our new Deputy Leader @dennis_dawson and our Whip/Caucus Chair @SenTMM. We look forward to working collaboratively with all senators to promote progressive policies for all Canadians". Twitter. Retrieved 10 January 2020.

External links

• Dennis Dawson – Parliament of Canada biography
• Liberal Senate Forum