Carney names his principal secretary and a Conservative MP to Senate

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney has named his principal secretary Tom Pitfield to the Senate, as he says he is dropping the non-partisan criteria for appointments to the upper chamber.

Pitfield is one of four new appointments to the Senate announced Tuesday, the first Carney has made since he took office more than a year ago.

Conservative MP Richard Martel is also on the list, who along with Pitfield will represent Quebec.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Carney selected these two appointments himself.

The appointees also include New Brunswick cancer researcher Dr. Rodney Ouellette and Manitoba chartered professional accountant Geeta Tucker.

The government spokesperson said both Ouellette and Tucker’s names were recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments.

Pitfield is a longtime Liberal strategist who has served as Carney’s principal secretary since he became prime minister in March 2025. Pitfield advised Carney on artificial intelligence, productivity and the digital economy, according to a biography shared by the Prime Minister’s Office.

He has been a tech sector executive and consultant outside of politics and is a co-founder of Canada 2020, a progressive think tank. Carney previously served as chair of its advisory board.

Pitfield has been heavily involved in Liberal campaigns, including running digital operations for the party during the 2015 and 2019 federal elections. He is married to Anna Gainey, a Liberal MP from Montreal.

Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie University, said she expects to see Pitfield emerge as someone who works to guide government legislation through the Senate so it doesn’t get hung up in committees.

“I have been very curious about how Carney would use his appointment power because it’s, I think, one of the most important tools a prime minister has to try to maintain his own presence to write the political system even when he’s not in the room,” Turnbull said.

“That can become very useful, especially when you’re trying to get legislation through in an expedited period of time. So when he puts Pitfield in, I think … he will be Mark Carney’s right hand in the Senate.”

Martel was first elected in 2018 and has served in several opposition leadership roles, including Quebec lieutenant under former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole.

In a message on Facebook, Martel said it has been an honour to serve his constituents for the last eight years and he will continue that commitment in the Senate.

Writing in French, Martel said while his role is changing, his commitment remains the same and he will be accessible and accountable to the community.

Martel’s appointment will trigger a future byelection in the Quebec riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord. He is the fifth Conservative MP to leave the Opposition benches in the House of Commons since the election last year, including four who crossed the floor to sit with the Liberals.

A Conservative source told La Presse Canadienne that Poilievre’s team learned about Martel’s decision to accept Carney’s Senate appointment on Tuesday morning. The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Poilievre posted a short statement to social media in the afternoon to congratulate Martel.

“I hope he will continue the fight for affordability, growing paycheques, and safe streets in the upper chamber,” the Conservative leader wrote.

Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos said on X that he is “particularly delighted” to welcome Martel to the Senate in a post congratulating all four appointees.

Housakos said in an emailed statement that while it’s become routine practice for new senators to join as independents, there is nothing stopping Martel from joining the Conservative caucus.

“The good news is, as demonstrated by the prime minister endorsing partisanship and our recent recruitments of other independent senators, there is nothing standing in the way of Mr. Martel — or anyone else — joining our caucus, where he would be welcomed with open arms,” Housakos said.

The Senate is not divided by political party as is the House of Commons. The Conservatives are the only Senate group directly linked to a political party, with the others either unaligned or a member of various groups that include the Government Representative’s Office, the Independent Senators Group, the Canadian Senators Group and the Progressive Senate Group.

The removal of the non-partisan section of the Senate selection criteria is yet another Carney policy change from the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau, who established an arm’s-length advisory board for advising the prime minister on Senate appointments.

Turnbull said the independence and non-partisan intentions of the Trudeau-era Senate was more an appearance than reality — while some were clearly on merit, many had clear ties to the Liberals, including as donors.

Turnbull said Trudeau also appointed some overt Liberal partisans to the Senate such as Rodger Cuzner, the former Nova Scotia Liberal MP.

She said statistics show Trudeau-appointed senators typically voted in favour of government bills and supported the government’s agenda.

“So I’m not really sure that the promise of non-partisanship in the Senate ever really came true,” Turnbull said.

The goal was to have a more independent Senate after the upper chamber faced criticism that it was a den of patronage appointments and an overly partisan institution. Trudeau also barred senators from sitting with the Liberal caucus in 2014.

Carney’s office said Tuesday a new independent advisory board for Senate appointments will be established shortly. A spokesperson said this is expected next week.

The four new appointments leave five vacant seats in the Senate with six more senators set to retire by the end of 2026.

A news release from the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney is putting an “enhanced focus” on Senate applicants with expertise in Canadian strategic industries, regulatory frameworks plus emerging social and economic affairs.

Turnbull said that senators saw heavier lobbying efforts after they became independent, and with a greater emphasis now on industry, she said she expects to see that increase.

“If Carney starts to stack the place with people from industry, there could be a very close relationship with people who are on the outside trying to influence government. In fact, I think that would be the case,” Turnbull said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2026.

— With files from Catherine Morrison and Emilie Bergeron in Ottawa

David Baxter, The Canadian Press