Saskatchewan senator, farmer Todd Lewis dies at age 65

OTTAWA — Todd Lewis, a Saskatchewan senator, farmer and agricultural sector advocate has died at the age of 65.

Raymonde Gagné, the speaker of the Senate, announced Lewis’s death Saturday afternoon and called him a “steadfast champion of Saskatchewan’s agricultural sector.”

“Throughout his more than four-decade career on the land, Senator Lewis emerged as a leading advocate for farmers’ interests, serving five years as president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and as a leading member of many other community organizations,” Gagne said in a statement.

Lewis was appointed to the Senate by former prime minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 7, 2025.

Lewis was a member of the Canadian Senators Group during his time in the upper chamber.

Flordeliz Osler, leader of that Senate group, issued a statement Saturday saying they are “deeply saddened” by Lewis’s “sudden passing.”

“Todd brought an authentic, grounded voice of a fourth-generation Saskatchewan farmer directly into the Upper Chamber,” Osler said in a statement.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that Lewis’s lifetime of public service led him to the Senate where he remained a “steadfast voice” for rural communities.

“Senator Lewis understood that farming is more than a livelihood — it is a responsibility to the land, to one’s neighbours, and to the generations that follow. He carried that conviction from his family farm in Gray, Saskatchewan, into a distinguished career of advocacy that made him one of Canadian agriculture’s most trusted voices,” Carney said in a statement.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also shared a message of condolence, saying Lewis was a community leader and advocate for his home province.

Lewis operated a farm near Gray, Sask., about 39 kilometres south of Regina, for more than 40 years.

Lewis’s past public service includes time on his local school board, more than 20 years as a council member for the rural municipality of Lajord, time as a volunteer firefighter and board president for his community rink.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press