OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is appointing a Conservative MP and a senior Liberal strategist to sit in the upper chamber.
On Tuesday Carney announced the appointment of four people to the Senate and revealed that he is dropping the non-partisan criteria for appointments.
Conservative MP Richard Martel is among the individuals the prime minister has named in his first round of Senate appointments since he took office more than one year ago.
The Quebec MP was first elected in the riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord in 2018. In 2025, Martel narrowly won the riding with 34.1 per cent of the vote. The Bloc and Liberals followed closely behind, each with 31 per cent of the vote.
Poilievre ‘boxed in’ over Martel move: Nanos
Martel, who has officially stepped down as an MP, is the fifth Conservative to leave his party’s caucus since the last election.
“For Mr. Poilievre, this stings. It stings because this is another MP that is now gone, he has lost five caucus members from the House of Commons since the general election,” said Dimitris Soudas, former communications director to then-prime minister Stephen Harper.
According to Soudas, Poilievre only learned of Martel’s move minutes before the announcement.
“Which shows, in my view, that Mr. Martel, to put it simply, was fed up,” Soudas said. He also told CTV News that a directive was given to the Conservative caucus to not attack Martel for his decision, unlike how past floor-crossers were treated.
“Quebec caucus sent a very clear warning saying do not go after one of our own. The only statement that has been issued so far welcoming Mr. Martel is by the leader of the official opposition in the Senate, Sen. (Leo) Housakos, who hopes to convince Mr. Martel to join the Conservative caucus,” Soudas said.
Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research said Poilievre has essentially been “boxed in” by Carney’s political machinations given he doesn’t have much room to react to the prime minister appointing a close friend and simultaneously appointing a Conservative to Senate.
“In this particular case Pierre Poilievre has been out-communicated by Mark Carney,” Nanos said.
CTV News reached out to Poilievre’s office for comment but has yet to hear back.
In a post on social media, Poilievre congratulated Martel on his Senate appointment.
“I hope he will continue the fight for affordability, growing paycheques, and safe streets in the Upper Chamber,” Poilievre said.
Martel’s appointment also opens up another vacancy in the House, which will trigger an additional byelection. According to Nanos Research’s latest seat projections, his Quebec riding is currently considered a toss-up, meaning it could be won by the Conservatives, Liberals, or the Bloc Quebecois.
“On the one hand, the Prime Minister gets to say that he’s non-partisan by appointing a Conservative to the Senate. On the other hand, creating an opening in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord creates a situation where the Liberals can win another seat,” Nanos said.
‘Lots of political intrigue’ around Pitfield pick
Joining Martel in the Senate is Carney’s chief strategist and a former senior policy advisor to the leader of the Government in the Senate, Tom Pitfield.
The longtime Liberal advisor and Montreal native had been serving as Carney’s principal secretary, advising the prime minister on government priorities including artificial intelligence and Canada’s digital economy.
Pitfield’s father, Michael Pitfield, also served in the Senate. He was appointed by former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in 1982 after serving as clerk of the Privy Council under Trudeau.
“Tom… will follow in his dad’s footsteps, first as an advisor to not one, but two prime ministers, both Trudeau and Carney, and now he’ll go to the Senate,” said Scott Reid, former communications director to former prime minister Paul Martin.
“That means the prime minister’s Office needs a shake-up. Tom was one of the two people that headed the shop, along with the chief of staff,” Reid said. “There’ll be some changes, rumors of other changes in the prime minister’s Office. So, you’re going to have some summer projects there, lots and lots and lots of political intrigue around this in Ottawa.”
Soudas called Carney’s one-two-punch “clever.”
“From the Liberals’ perspective, they said, ‘hey, we named Liberals and we named Conservatives as well,’ so a nice bipartisan headline,” he said.
‘A wealth of experience’: Carney
Manitoba’s Geeta Tucker and New Brunswick’s Dr. Rodney Ouellette have also been appointed.
Tucker is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and corporate executive with more than 30 years of experience in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. Among the firms she’s worked with are Nortel and Shaw Communications.
Ouellette founded the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute and is credited with strengthening cancer research in Canada and advancing precision medicine. Among the organizations he’s worked with are the Terry Fox Research Institute, and the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network.
Senators in Canada are appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the prime minister. Once appointed, they are expected to scrutinize legislation, probe pressing national issues, and represent their respective regional and demographic interests.
“These individuals bring a wealth of experience in the challenges and opportunities facing Canada today, including technology, artificial intelligence, business, finance, health care, as well as regulatory and parliamentary affairs,” the prime minister’s office said in a press release about the move.
“Their expertise will strengthen the Senate’s capacity to advance ambitious new legislation with scrutiny and rigour.”
Once the four appointments are confirmed and made official, there will be six remaining vacancies in the Senate. Five more are anticipated by the end of the year.
New appointment process
Alongside the new appointments, and in recognition of the outstanding and upcoming vacancies, the prime minister also announced changes to the Senate appointment process, including a clear departure from former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s attempts to de-politicize the process.
The release issued Tuesday explicitly states “the government is also removing the non-partisanship criterion for Senate appointments.”
“This decision recognises the valuable contributions made by Canadians who have chosen to serve in elected office or in other partisan roles, including knowledge of the governing and legislative processes, which will contribute to a stronger, more effective Senate,” the release says.
“Trudeau tried to move away from the political hacks and bag men, and Prime Minister Carney is saying, ‘you know what, it is politics, man.’ It’s a partisan body,” Reid said.
According to Carney’s office, he’s establishing a new advisory board “in the coming days,” and it will be asked to identify qualified candidates focused on merit, and with an expanded set of criteria.
“Recruitment of candidates with enhanced focus and expertise in key Canadian strategic industries, regulatory frameworks, and emerging social and economic affairs will be an added focus,” the statement reads.
“It’s basically a down payment on the Senate returning to what it was once before,” Nanos said.
“I think with the thin majority that Mark Carney has, he probably wants to try to create an environment in the Senate which is easier for him to pass legislation.”
At the same time, Nanos noted that with continued rumblings about dissatisfaction among Poilievre’s ranks, the “easiest way for Mark Carney to get an even stronger majority is to appoint more Conservatives to the Senate.”
“Who would have thought that would be his winning strategy for any Liberal prime minister?” Nanos said.
