Carney’s Senate appointment recalls rare cases of opposition MPs crossing chambers

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to appoint Conservative MP Richard Martel to the Senate has drawn attention because it is unusual, though not unprecedented, for a prime minister to elevate a sitting opposition MP to the upper chamber. Martel, who has represented ChicoutimiLe Fjord since 2018, is expected to sit as a nonaffiliated senator for now. His move reduces the Conservative presence in the House of Commons and creates a byelection in a riding the Liberals could try to win. The article notes that only a small number of MPs have been appointed to the Senate by a prime minister from a different party. Past examples include Thomas Robert McInnes under John A. Macdonald, John Gillanders Turriff under Robert Borden, Marcel Prud’homme under Brian Mulroney, and several appointments made by Pierre Trudeau. In some cases, the appointments came close to general elections and did not lead to a byelection. Poilievre publicly congratulated Martel on the appointment, while Carney’s office faces a deadline in early January to call the byelection for ChicoutimiLe Fjord.