The Independent Advisory Board of Senate Appointments (Advisory Board) is seeking candidates who could serve in the Senate of Canada.

The Advisory Board is an independent and non-partisan body established to provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Senate appointments. Its goal in engaging with national, provincial, and local organizations is to ensure that information about the process is shared broadly among Canadians. In doing so, we hope to appeal to a diverse slate of applicants with a variety of backgrounds, skills, knowledge and experience.

We would be greatly appreciative if you could share this information with your network and high quality individuals whom you consider to be potential candidates for appointment to the Senate and whom you feel meet the assessment criteria. You may also wish to nominate or support them by writing a reference letter. Information on how to proceed can be found below.

New applications review cycle

The Minister of Democratic Institutions recently announced the launch of a new applications review cycle. The Advisory Board is now accepting applications to fill current and upcoming Senate vacancies in the following provinces and territories: Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon. We are also accepting applications from other provinces and territories, which will be retained for future consideration.

Please note that the Advisory Board will review applications that are submitted by April 3, 2018. Applications received after this date will be retained for future consideration.

Nominate, support and inform a potential candidate

If you wish to nominate an individual, please visit the nomination page to complete the required form. The nominee will receive an email with your nomination, information on the application process, and we will be informed of your nomination. You will also receive a copy of the email. If the nominee is interested, that person will need to apply through the online process. Nominations will not be considered by the Advisory Board unless a completed application is submitted by the nominee.

You may also support a candidate by providing them with a reference letter. If you wish to do so, we encourage you to use the reference letter template to ensure that all information required is provided. The reference letter template can be found in the Forms and Templates section of the Advisory Board’s website. Please note that the reference letter must be submitted by the candidate with the online application.

Finally, you can quickly and easily share information about the Senate appointments process with potential applicants by email or on social media using the “Share this page” button on the Advisory Board’s website (https://www.canada.ca/en/campaign/independent-advisory-board-for-senate-appointments.html)