The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (Advisory Board), welcomes your assistance in identifying high-caliber Canadians who could serve in the Senate of Canada. The Advisory Board is a non-partisan body mandated to provide merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Senate appointments. We are engaging with organizations across the country to ensure that information about the appointment process is shared widely among Canadians. In doing so, we hope to appeal to a diverse range of applicants with a variety of backgrounds, skills, knowledge, and experience.

What is the Senate’s role? 

The Senate is the Upper House in Canada’s parliamentary democracy. It unites a diverse group of accomplished Canadians in service to their country. Created to counterbalance representation by population in the House of Commons, the Senate has evolved from defending regional interests to also playing an essential role in representing historically excluded groups, official language minority communities and identities that may be underrepresented in the Lower House.

What does a senator’s work involve? 

Parliament’s Senators shape Canada’s future. They participate in debates in the Senate Chamber, review legislation or propose their own bills, manage their office and stay in touch with the issues affecting the province or territory they represent. As members of Senate committees, they play an investigative role and undertake studies on challenges facing the country. These are important positions that provide a platform to speak out about the issues affecting everyone in Canada.

New application review cycle

The Advisory Board is launching a call for new applicants to fill current and upcoming Senate vacancies through 2023 for New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The Advisory Board encourages Atlantic Canadians to apply by November 7, 2022 at the latest to ensure the Advisory Board considers their documentation for this cycle. Please note that applications from all Canadians are accepted at any time and are retained for two years.

Nominate, support and inform a potential candidate

We would appreciate it if you could share this information with your network and with any high-quality individuals you consider to be potential candidates for appointment to the Senate and who you feel meet the assessment criteria. You may also wish to nominate or support them by writing a reference letter. Note that reference letters must be submitted by the candidate. Finally, you can share information about the Senate appointments process with potential applicants quickly and easily by email or through social media by using the “Share this page” button at the bottom of each page of the Advisory Board website.