Nancy Hartling, René Cormier named province's newest senators

New Brunswick's first senators appointed under a new non-partisan process are Nancy Hartling and René Cormier.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Thursday, naming nine new senators across the country.

Nancy Hartling spent 34 years running the non-profit group Support to Single Parents in Moncton

• Trudeau names 9 new senators
• Moncton's Support to Single Parents Inc. to close in June

She retired in the spring, but now will be back at work in the Senate, sitting as an independent. 

Hartling says her style will fit in well with the new non-partisan approach in the upper house.

"I think I'm a really good collaborator," she said. "And I work a lot by consensus. I'm a good listener and I think I can carefully consider all sides of things."

Cormier's background is in theatre as head of the Theatre Populaire de l'Acadie in Caraquet and with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

He says that experience will bring something important to the Senate.

"The anglophone, francophone communities, and First Nations, we work a lot together in arts and culture in all our communities," he said. "There are good stories there that must be shared with other Canadians."

Cormier is also the president of the Societé Nationale de l'Acadie.

Under the new selection process, Cormier and Hartling applied and were vetted by an independent committee, which then sent a short list of potential nominees to the prime minister for the final selection.