On behalf of ISG Senators from Atlantic Canada
OTTAWA, JUNE 20, 2024 – A newly released national opinion poll shows that a large majority of those residing in the Atlantic provinces want future governments to keep the reforms that have created an independent Senate of Canada.
A total of 79 percent of Atlantic Canadians want future governments to continue with the changes that have created an increasingly independent and non-partisan Senate. Only three percent of Atlantic Canadians want to return to the previous way of appointing partisan senators.
“Atlantic Canadians show higher support for the independent, non-partisan Senate than anywhere else in the country,” said independent Nova Scotia Senator Mary Coyle. “The new Senate offers a setting without hyper-partisanship, which people really appreciate.”
April 2024 marked the eight-year anniversary of the first group of Senate appointees using a new selection process promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shortly after taking office in 2015, with the goal of creating a more independent and less partisan Senate. To date, 81 senators have been appointed by Mr. Trudeau using this process. Currently, there is one vacancy in the Atlantic provinces.
The three major features of the new appointment process received significant public support in Atlantic Canada in the poll. A total of 88 percent of the public think it’s a good change that new senators sit as independents and not as political partisans.
As well, 81 percent of Atlantic Canadians think that an independent advisory board that reviews Senate appointments is a good change, and 71 percent say the same thing about the open application process.
The poll is based on a national sample of 1069 Canadians surveyed from March 31 to April 1, 2024, by Nanos Research, and was commissioned by independent Senator Donna Dasko.
The poll shows, however, that awareness of changes to the Senate has decreased on a national level. Twenty-six percent of Atlantic Canadians in the new poll say they have heard or read something about changes that have been made to the Senate in recent years. When asked specifically, 42 percent say they have heard about independent senators.
“We need to keep building awareness of the new Senate,” said independent New Brunswick Senator Joan Kingston. “We still have work to do.”
-30-
Media inquiries:
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group
The Honourable Jane MacAdam, P.E.I.
Independent Senators Group
Independent Senators Group