Alberta Premier Danielle Smith decried Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent appointment of two senators as undemocratic and opposed to the province’s best interests.
Alberta stands alone as the only province that conducts elections for Senate nominees. However, these elections are non-binding, as the appointment of senators is ultimately determined by the Governor General of Canada, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Alberta’s first senate election occurred on Oct. 16, 1989, making this year the 35th anniversary.
“Despite our province’s repeated democratic election of senators-in-waiting ready to represent Albertans’ interests, [Trudeau] has chosen to appoint left-wing partisans who will do whatever he and the Liberals order them to do,” said Smith.
During Alberta’s senate election process, electors vote for the candidates they wish to put forward to the King’s Privy Council of Canada to fill future vacancies representing Alberta in the Senate of Canada. The names are submitted to the federal government for consideration, but any recommendations are non-binding.
Each of Alberta’s Senate elections selects the top three nominees. During the most recent election in 2021, which saw over 1.1 million votes, the top three nominees were Pam Davidson, Erika Barootes, and Mykhailo Martyniouk, securing 18.2%, 17.1%, and 11.3% of the vote, respectively.
Despite this, Trudeau appointed Daryl Fridhandler and Kristopher Wells to represent Alberta. Neither candidate participated in Alberta’s previous election.
Martytniouk said that the recent decision raises concerns about the principles of representative democracy, highlighting that Trudeau chose to disregard the democratic preference of Albertans.
“This perception that the federal government is ignoring the democratic preferences of a province will deepen divisions within Canada, particularly between Western provinces and the rest of the country,” said senator-in-waiting Martyniouk. “The Prime Minister has dramatically failed both democracy and federalism.”
The concerns were echoed by Davidson, who criticized Trudeau for appointing two “unelected men” to fill the province’s Senate vacancies.
“I remain ready to represent my province; the only person standing in the way is Justin Trudeau,” she said.
Despite not making a public statement, Barootes retweeted a post from Conservative MP Damien C. Kurek.
“In Alberta, we elect our Senators. Full Stop. Justin Trudeau doesn’t like that,” said Kurek. “Alberta and Canada deserve better than a PM that has such contempt for the democratic will of the people of the country he is supposed to be serving.”
According to Trudeau, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments reviews candidate submissions for the Senate and subsequently provides recommendations to him. All 86 appointments to the Senate by Trudeau have come as recommendations from the Board.
“The Board is guided in its work by public, transparent, non-partisan, and merit-based criteria to identify highly qualified candidates for the Senate,” reads the release.
Conservative Shadow Minister for Democratic Reform, Michael Cooper, said that Trudeau’s appointments serve to ram through his radical agenda and cause hurt and misery across the country.
“Justin Trudeau lied to Canadians and said he would make the Senate independent and non-partisan but the reality is that nearly every person he has appointed is in fact a Liberal Senator,” said Cooper. “And once again, Justin Trudeau can’t pass up an opportunity to insult Albertans and show exactly what he thinks of them, this time by completely ignoring Alberta’s three democratically elected Senate nominees.”
“Common sense Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre will appoint Senators who will axe the fax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime,” he added.
The Senate is responsible for reviewing and amending legislation, investigating national matters, and representing the interests of regions, provinces, territories, and minority groups.
Wells and Fridhandler both have a history of contributing to the Liberals, according to Elections Canada.
While Wells only donated $200 to the party in two separate donations in 2012, Fridhandler has donated over 100 times to various MPs and associations of the Liberal Party between 2004 and 2023, totalling nearly $80,000.
Trudeau was previously criticized for appointing Charles Adler, who has been a vocal critic of the Conservatives and once described the Senate as a “sewer” and a “barn.”Wells has faced similar backlash online for previous posts of caricatures belittling Poilievre and comparing Christians to Nazis.
