Prime Minister announces intention to recommend the appointment of nine new Senators

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that he will recommend, to the Governor General, the appointment of nine new, independent Senators to fill vacancies in the Senate for British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

In doing so, the Government is today taking further concrete steps to follow through on its commitment to improve the appointments process, and to restore public trust in a reformed Senate.

The individuals being recommended today for appointment to the Senate were chosen using the Government of Canada's new merit-based process – which is designed to help ensure that the Senate is independent, reflective of Canada's diversity, and best able to tackle the broad range of challenges and opportunities facing the country.

Under the new process, the following people are being recommended for appointment to the Senate:

Announcements about further appointments to the Senate will be made in the near future. Additional information on the first cycle of the permanent process will be made public when the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments completes its report to the Prime Minister later this year.

Quote

"It is a privilege to be putting forward the names of nine new senators to the Governor General who have been selected using a new merit-based and open process. It is part of our ongoing efforts to make the Senate more modern and independent and ensure that its members have the depth of knowledge and experience to best serve Canadians."
– Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick Facts

Under the Canadian Constitution, the Governor General appoints people to the Senate. By convention, Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.
For the first time ever, the process was opened up to allow Canadians to apply. Following a four-week application period, which generated over 2,700 applications from Canadians across the country, the candidate submissions were reviewed by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which then provided the Prime Minister with non-binding recommendations. From that pool of candidates, the Prime Minister selected the nine people he will recommend to the Governor General for appointment to the Senate.
In making their recommendations, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments was guided by public, transparent, non-partisan and merit-based criteria to identify highly-qualified people.
Once appointed by the Governor General and summoned to the Senate, the new Senators will join their peers in examining and revising legislation, investigating national issues, and representing regional, provincial and minority interests – all important functions in a modern democracy.

Yuen Pau Woo

Born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Yuen Pau Woo came to British Columbia at the age of sixteen on an academic scholarship and later immigrated to Canada. Over the past 28 years, Mr. Woo has worked on public policy issues from coast to coast, with a special emphasis on Canada’s relations with Asia, and has been a spokesperson for British Columbia and Canada in the Asia Pacific. He has been a champion for openness in trade, capital, and people flows, encouraging innovation and risk taking, and fostering public good. Mr. Woo has helped many entities - public and private - understand the importance of Asia for their business and has contributed to policymaking on Canada-Asia relations. As President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada from 2005 to 2014, he led a major expansion of the organization and spearheaded the “National Conversation on Asia”, a three-year cross-Canada campaign to highlight the growing importance of Asia in the world and for Canada. For ten years, he represented Canada on the Standing Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Currently, he serves as President of HQ Vancouver, a public-private partnership established to promote British Columbia as a head office location for global firms. He co-founded a not-for-profit organization that promotes Chinese art and culture in Canada. Mr. Woo has contributed to Canada’s international economic policy and foreign affairs through teaching and scholarly research, consultations with senior officials, business and community leaders, and public advocacy. He is currently a Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia as well as a Senior Resident Fellow at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. He has worked effectively with leaders from First Nations and a variety of civil society organizations. Mr. Woo has served as a member of many advisory councils, boards and committees, working on a variety of policy issues such as the standardization system, immigration and multiculturalism, economic policy, and Canada’s place in the world.