The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that the Governor General, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, appointed Pierre Moreau as an independent senator to fill a vacancy in the Senate for Quebec.
Pierre Moreau is a lawyer specializing in public and administrative law, and a former member of the Quebec National Assembly with 40 years of legal and political experience. Between 2003 and 2018, he represented the ridings of Marguerite-D’Youville then Châteauguay, and held a number of important positions in the Quebec Cabinet.
This new senator was recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments and chosen using a merit-based process open to all Canadians. Introduced in 2016, this process ensures senators are independent, and are able to tackle the broad range of challenges and opportunities facing the country.
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“Mr. Moreau’s experience and expertise will be a great benefit to the Senate. He will be an important spokesperson for his community and for Quebec as a whole.”
The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Quick Facts
- The Senate is the Upper House in Canada’s parliamentary democracy.
- Candidate submissions were reviewed by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which provided recommendations to the Prime Minister. The Board is guided in its work by public, transparent, non-partisan, and merit-based criteria to identify highly qualified candidates for the Senate.
- With today’s announcement, there have been 87 independent appointments to the Senate made on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. All of them were recommended by the Board.
- Under the Canadian Constitution, the Governor General appoints individuals to the Senate. By convention, senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- Once appointed by the Governor General, new senators join their peers to examine and revise legislation, investigate national issues, and represent regional, provincial and territorial, and minority interests – important functions in a modern democracy.