Politics

Trudeau appoints new senators for Nova Scotia, Nunavut

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed two new senators on Thursday — Allister Surette for Nova Scotia and Nancy Karetak-Lindell for Nunavut.

Both appointees have previous Liberal ties and experience in electoral politics

A woman stands in traditional Inuit clothing against a wooden backdrop
Nancy Uqquujuq Karetak-Lindell, former member of Parliament for Nunavut, has been appointed a senator for the territory. (HO-Hinaani Design/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed two new senators on Thursday — Allister Surette for Nova Scotia and Nancy Karetak-Lindell for Nunavut.

Surette is a former Nova Scotia MLA and cabinet minister. He was also president and vice-chancellor of the Université Sainte-Anne, a French-language university in Church Point, N.S.

Karetak-Lindell was elected to Parliament in 1997 after playing a key role in negotiations to establish Nunavut as its own political riding two years before it achieved status as a territory. Before that, the riding was called Nunatsiaq.

She is also a member of the Order of Canada and a former president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada.

A man in a suit stands in a library.
Former Nova Scotia MLA Allister Surette has been appointed to the Senate to represent the province. (CBC)

Both Karetak-Lindell and Surette will sit as independent senators and were appointed on the recommendation of an independent advisory board — but their appointments follow a recent trend of Trudeau choosing senators who have past Liberal ties.

Karetak-Lindell was a member of the Liberal Party when she was an MP and Surette was a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party as an MLA.

A CBC News analysis conducted earlier this summer found more than half of Trudeau's most recent Senate appointments had Liberal connections.

With files from The Canadian Press