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Pamela Wallin | |
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.jpg) Wallin in 2008 | |
| Canadian Senator fromSaskatchewan | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2009 | |
| Nominated by | Stephen Harper |
| Appointed by | Michaëlle Jean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-04-10)April 10, 1953 (age 72) Moose Jaw,Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Political party | Canadian Senators Group (since 2019) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Occupation |
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Pamela WallinOC SOM (born April 10, 1953) is a Canadian politician, former television journalist, and diplomat who served as asenator. She was appointed to the senate on January 2, 2009, where she initially sat as aConservative.
Wallin was born inMoose Jaw,Saskatchewan, and is ofSwedish descent. Wallin spent much of her formative years in Wadena but completed her high school in Moose Jaw. In 1973,[1] she graduated with a degree inpsychology andpolitical science from theUniversity of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (now theUniversity of Regina) and began her career as an officer at theSaskatchewan Federal Penitentiary. Politically, she was a member ofThe Waffle, a left-wing faction in theNew Democratic Party that existed in the early to mid-1970s.[2][3]
In 1974, she began her career in journalism, joiningCBC Radio's news division.[1] In 1978, she joined theOttawa bureau of theToronto Star where she remained for two years.[1] In 1980 she joinedCTV and became cohost, withNorm Perry, ofCanada AM.[1] In 1985, CTV named her its Ottawa bureau chief.[1] She later rejoinedCanada AM, hosting alongsideJ. D. Roberts.
In 1992,CBC Television hired Wallin in a highly publicized move. For many years,The National had been followed by a 40-minute nightly newsmagazine hosted byBarbara Frum, calledThe Journal. However, as a result of Frum's death in March 1992, the CBC wanted to revamp and reposition its entire approach to news programming.
In the fall of that year, Wallin andPeter Mansbridge debuted as the co-hosts ofPrime Time News.[1] Instead of Mansbridge reading the news onThe National, followed by Frum introducing documentary and current affairs features and interviewing newsmakers onThe Journal, the new show integrated the two former programs and featured Wallin and Mansbridge as equal co-hosts of the entire package. As well, the new show aired at 9 p.m., one hour earlier than the oldNational/Journal tandem.
The show fared poorly in the ratings and by 1994 had returned to its old format and time slot, with Mansbridge reading the news, followed by Wallin hosting a magazine segment which eventually took on the nameThe National Magazine. In April 1995, Wallin was dropped as host ofThe Magazine,[4] and was succeeded in June byHana Gartner.[5]
Following her dismissal from CBC News, Wallin briefly returned to CTV as part of its coverage of the1995 provincial election in Ontario,[6] but did not rejoin the company permanently. Instead, she created her own production company, Pamela Wallin Productions, and launched a daily interview series calledPamela Wallin Live in 1995.[1] Airing onCBC Newsworld and, in some years, on the CBC's main network as well,Pamela Wallin Live was a highly successful series which featured Wallin interviewing newsmakers, celebrities and other interesting personalities in a manner similar toCNN'sLarry King Live. The show ran for four years before Wallin moved to the cable networkTalkTV.
In 2000, Wallin hosted theCanadian edition ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Wallin has also published two books,Since You Asked (ISBN 978-0679310082) andSpeaking of Success (ISBN 1552633705), and has made cameo appearances on the Canadian comedy seriesRoyal Canadian Air Farce andCorner Gas.
In 2001, Wallin, along with Foreign Affairs MinisterJohn Manley, was one of the organizers of the "Canada Loves New York" rally for Canadians to show their support after theSeptember 11 attacks (Manley ran in theNew York City Marathon in 2001, a contributing factor in the organization of the rally).
On June 25, 2002, Wallin's television career came to an end whenCanadian Prime MinisterJean Chrétien advisedGovernor GeneralAdrienne Clarkson to appoint Wallin to a four-year term as Canada's consul general inNew York City,[1] her first diplomatic posting. In 2003, Wallin and SenatorJerry Grafstein were honoured by the Canadian Society of New York for their ongoing commitment to strengthening the ties between Canada and the United States. In 2006, she became a senior advisor to the president of theAmericas Society and the Council of the Americas in New York.[1]
One of the perquisites of the post of Consul General was an official residence onPark Avenue.[7]In 2005, shortly before her term ended, Wallin bought a 500 square feet (46 m2) apartment for US$379,000.
In March 2007, she was appointed the seventhchancellor of theUniversity of Guelph and was installed in June.[8] She sat on the Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan, chaired by Manley, a former cabinet minister.
She was also appointed by the governor general as anhonorary colonel of theRoyal Canadian Air Force.[9]
In 2006, Wallin was appointed to the board ofBell Globemedia, owners ofThe Globe and Mail andCTV Inc.[10] From 2007 to 2011 she served on the board of Oilsands Quest, Inc. and has also served on the board of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, Inc., an investment and wealth management firm and as a member of the advisory board ofBMO Harris Bank.[11] In 2013, as a result of the Senate expense claims scandal she was embroiled in, Wallin resigned from all three paid positions she held outside of the Senate:[12] as a director of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, a wealth management firm, in May 2013,[13] the board ofPorter Airlines in June 2013 after having been on the board since 2008,[14][15] and the board of the Ideas Council.[12]
On January 2, 2009, Wallin was appointed to theSenate of Canada on the advice ofPrime MinisterStephen Harper.[16] Following her expulsion from the Conservative Senate Caucus in 2013, Wallin identified as an Independent from 2013 to 2016. From 2016 until 2019, Wallin has caucused with the Independent Senators Group.[17][18] On November 4, 2019, Senator Wallin joined theCanadian Senators Group.[19]
Wallin decided to leave the Conservative caucus on May 17, 2013, until an audit into her expense claims could be completed.[20] On November 5, 2013, the Senate voted to suspend Wallin without pay for the duration of the41st Canadian Parliament for alleged theft from the public purse. The suspension ended with dissolution of parliament for the 2015 federal election. In 2016 theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police announced that criminal charges would not be laid against Wallin over her expenses.[21] She subsequently returned to the Senate in 2015.[22][23]
Wallin is divorced. She was diagnosed withcolorectal cancer in 2001.[24]
In 1994, her home town of Wadena, Saskatchewan named its major streetPamela Wallin Drive in her honour. In 1999, she was inducted into theSaskatchewan Order of Merit, and in 2007 was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada.[25] In 2008,Toastmasters International announced that Wallin would be that year's winner of theirGolden Gavel award.[26]
Wallin has received 13 honorary degrees, including fromAthabasca University, theUniversity of Lethbridge and theUniversity of Windsor.
Wallin bought her bachelor condo during her final months as Canada's consul general in New York, and just before she had to move out of her official diplomatic digs, a spacious residence on Park Avenue.
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chancellor of theUniversity of Guelph 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
