Progressive Senate Group Groupe progressiste du sénat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Brian Francis |
| Deputy Leader | Judy White |
| Liaison | Amina Gerba |
| Caucus Chair | Tracy Muggli |
| Founded | November 14, 2019 |
| Preceded by | Senate Liberal Caucus |
| Ideology | Progressivism[1] Non-partisan[2] Technical group |
| Senate | 16 / 105 |
| Website | |
| theprogressives | |
TheProgressive Senate Group (French:Groupe progressiste du sénat) is aparliamentary group in theSenate of Canada.[2][1] It was formed on November 14, 2019, out of the formerSenate Liberal Caucus. It is currently led byBrian Francis.
On January 29, 2014, as part of his proposal for a non-partisan Senate,Liberal Party leaderJustin Trudeau expelled all the Liberal senators from the parliamentary caucus.[3] Despite being formally independent, the senators chose to sit together as a caucus, known as theSenate Liberal Caucus (SLC).[4]
After the Liberal Party formed the government following the2015 federal election, Trudeau appointed onlyindependents to the Senate. By 2019,floor-crossings and retirements had reduced the SLC to nine members. As a minimum of nine members is required forofficial party status, which entitles a group to access to funding and other supports and privileges, the Senate Liberals were expected to lose their recognition as an official Senate caucus on January 24, 2020, when the mandatory retirement of SenatorJoseph A. Day would reduce the caucus to eight.[5]
On November 14, 2019, Joseph Day announced that the SLC had been officially disbanded, with its current complement of nine members forming a new, non-partisanparliamentary group in the Progressive Senate Group, with the hope that the new group would be able to attract additional Senators. Day confirmed that, likeIndependent Senators Group and newly formedCanadian Senators Group, the PSG would not have whipped votes, and that the requirements of membership included supporting or holding "progressive" political values, support of theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and supporting a new relationship withIndigenous peoples in Canada.[1] Day, previously leader of the SLC, was named the PSG's interim leader, andTerry Mercer, previously the SLC chair, was confirmed as the PSG's deputy leader.[6]Percy Downe was named as the interim whip/facilitator of the PSG.[7]
On November 18, Downe left to join the Canadian Senators Group. As Downe's departure dropped the PSG's standings below the minimum nine members required to be recognized as a caucus, the PSG lost its official status and became ineligible for the privileges associated with being an official parliamentary group, such as $410,000 in annual funding for staff and research as well as its right to be represented on Senate committees and procedural rights on the Senate floor.[8] Despite the loss of official recognition, Day said that the group would not disband, and that it hoped to recruit additional members.[8][9][10]
With Day's mandatory retirement forthcoming in January 2020, on December 12, 2019,Jane Cordy tweeted that her colleagues in the PSG had selected her as the new leader, ostensibly effective that same date.[11] Additionally, it was announced later that day that Mercer would be moving into the whip/caucus chair role, and thatDennis Dawson would become deputy leader.[12][13]Serge Joyal's retirement followed on February 24, 2020, further reducing the PSG to six members.
On May 8, 2020,Patricia Bovey joined the caucus. Bovey, a Trudeau appointee and former member of the ISG, was the first member of the PSG to not be a former Liberal senator.[14] A week later, on May 14, formerRepresentative of the Government in the SenatePeter Harder joined the caucus. Harder, previously non-affiliated, explained that he was concerned about "majoritarianism" in the Senate and believed that, as part of the PSG, he could be "part of a bulwark against that."[15] On May 21, 2020,Pierre Dalphond joined the caucus, bringing their numbers to nine and thus restoring official party status to the group.[16]
On June 11, 2020, Bovey was named the PSG's liaison.[17]
| Name[22] | Province (Division) | Joined caucus | Mandatory retirement date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michèle Audette | Quebec (De Salaberry) | December 27, 2023 | July 20, 2046 |
| Wanda Thomas Bernard | Nova Scotia (East Preston) | July 8, 2020 | August 1, 2028 |
| Andrew Cardozo | Ontario | February 23, 2023 | March 21, 2031 |
| Rodger Cuzner | Nova Scotia | December 15, 2023 | November 4, 2030 |
| Pierre Dalphond | Quebec (De Lorimier) | May 21, 2020 | May 1, 2029 |
| Brian Francis | Prince Edward Island | September 14, 2020 | September 28, 2032 |
| Daryl Fridhandler | Alberta | October 22, 2024 | October 9, 2031 |
| Amina Gerba | Quebec (Rigaud) | September 2, 2021 | March 14, 2036 |
| Peter Harder | Ontario (Ottawa) | May 14, 2020 | August 25, 2027 |
| Marty Klyne | Saskatchewan | September 2, 2020 | March 6, 2032 |
| Pierre Moreau | Quebec (The Laurentides) | November 21, 2024 | December 12, 2032 |
| Tracy Muggli | Saskatchewan | November 20, 2024 | September 18, 2040 |
| Kristopher Wells | Alberta | March 4, 2025 | October 7, 2046 |
| Judy White | Newfoundland and Labrador | November 22, 2023 | January 11, 2039 |
| Duncan Wilson | British Columbia | April 4, 2025 | September 26, 2042 |
| Danièle Henkel | Quebec (Alma) | February 12, 2025 | January 16, 2031 |
| Katherine Hay | Ontario | March 7, 2025 | January 16, 2036 |