THE SENATE — New Senators
Congratulations on Appointments
May 29, 2025
Honourable senators, I’m pleased to rise today on behalf of the Government Representative Office to welcome our two new colleagues to this chamber.
Senator Karetak-Lindell, you’re no stranger to Parliament Hill. As the first Member of Parliament for Nunavut and the first female Member of Parliament for the Eastern Arctic, along with your experience as a parliamentary secretary, you will no doubt find yourself very much at home in the chamber in no time at all. You have dedicated your very impressive career to being a strong advocate from the North, in particular for Nunavut. We all look forward to you continuing your advocacy on behalf of the citizens of Nunavut here in the Senate and in all that you do for Canadians.
Senator Lewis, you’ve been a long-time advocate for change and progress in the agricultural industry, having held numerous roles, including that of President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. I understand you’re a fourth-generation farmer with over 40 years of experience. As a deeply committed volunteer, your roots in your community run deep. Again, I have no doubt that you will bring that same passion for your community, your province and your industry to this chamber.
As I’ve shared with your other colleagues earlier this week, as new senators, there is a relatively steep learning curve for all of us, and for all of you who have just arrived, and the work ahead will not always be so easy. However, every one of us here in this chamber has been in your place before, and I know I speak for all of us when I say please do not hesitate to reach out to seek advice or support whenever you feel you may need it.
I am looking forward to working with all of you in the weeks to come. Once again, on behalf of the Government Representative Office, I welcome my esteemed colleagues to the Senate of Canada.
Honourable senators, it is once again a true honour on behalf of the Conservative caucus here in the Senate to welcome two outstanding new senators to this chamber, Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell and Senator Todd Lewis.
Although they come from very different regions and backgrounds, both bring with them a deep and tested commitment to public service and to the people and communities they have represented for decades.
Senator Karetak-Lindell, you have long been a powerful voice for the North, from the community of Arviat to the international stage. As the first Member of Parliament for Nunavut and the first woman elected to represent the Eastern Arctic, you helped shape the foundations of self-governance for your region and advocated for Inuit perspectives in national policy. Your fluency in both Inuktitut and English, your parliamentary leadership and your years of grassroots service have made you a bridge between communities, cultures and generations. We’re honoured to have your wisdom and experience in this chamber. Welcome, senator.
Senator Lewis, you bring to this chamber the voice of Western Canadian agriculture, rooted in the soil of Saskatchewan and cultivated over four generations on your family farm at Gray. You have earned the respect of producers and policy-makers alike through decades of leadership in agricultural associations and rural governance. Whether advocating for fair transportation systems, sustainable policy, a water policy or strong rural communities, you have shown that steady, local leadership can have a national impact. The perspectives you bring from the Prairies, both economic and civic, will serve us well.
We would like to also open the door to our caucus group even though we already have a powerful voice from Saskatchewan. You can never have enough Roughriders.
Senators, your presence strengthens this institution. You remind us that Canada’s diversity is not only cultural but regional, economic and generational. You bring with you unique insights and lived experiences that will strengthen senators’ work and the Senate’s work and shape the laws and debates that affect Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
We are proud to welcome you to the Senate of Canada, and we are looking forward to working with you. Thank you.
Your Honour, esteemed colleagues and distinguished guests, I too am pleased to welcome two colleagues today on behalf of the Independent Senators Group.
Senator Karetak-Lindell, at last, the Inuit community of Nunavut, which makes up around 85% of the territory’s population, has a Native voice in the Senate of Canada. Senator Karetak-Lindell, this voice is yours, and it is a powerful one. Thank you for speaking so beautifully minutes ago in Inuktitut in the chamber — a beautiful language. As a Native, a resident and a former elected representative of Nunavut in the House of Commons, no one else is as qualified as you are to raise in this upper chamber the issues as well as the preoccupations of your people and the ones of all the Nunavummiut. As a former parliamentarian for 11 years, you emerged as a pioneer who puts emphasis on the importance of action and respect in matters concerning Aboriginal affairs and northern development. I’m thrilled that you will be one of those colleagues who will guide us and inform us so aptly on these crucial issues.
Senator Lewis, your lifelong experience is deeply rooted in rural Saskatchewan and in the agricultural community. So deeply rooted, in fact, that since 1904, your family’s farm has been a staple of the Hamlet of Gray, a small town just outside of Regina. Even more remarkable, you are now the fourth generation taking care of the family farm.
Your appointment to this chamber brings the additional ability in matters of agri-food and agriculture. You are joining the ranks of other proud advocates for this sector. You are known as someone who always tries to be substantiated in your advocacy with the best interests of the Canadian agricultural sector in mind as well as consumers and the public interest. A hard defender of your ideas, doing so respectfully, Senator Lewis, you will fit right in — and fight, rightly so — to the modern, independent Senate.
All members of the Independent Senators Group, join me in wishing both Senator Karetak-Lindell and Senator Lewis a warm welcome to the Senate of Canada. We look forward to working alongside you. Thank you. Meegwetch.
Honourable senators, I welcome our two new outstanding senators sworn in today, Senator Karetak-Lindell and Senator Lewis.
Senator Karetak-Lindell is a household name and well-known in the North for her leadership and dedication to the development of Nunavut. While you are no stranger to Parliament Hill, you may have noticed that the Senate and the House of Commons aren’t quite where you left them last time you were here.
As a former member of Parliament, an elections officer, a businessperson, an instructor and a guest speaker, you will bring much richness and substance to our debates from a perspective that is too often overlooked and ignored by the South, and this must change. We are looking to you, Senator Karetak-Lindell, to help guide and lead us as the North’s importance becomes clearer and our focus is finally in the right place. I am reminded that all of us here in this chamber will need to attentively listen to all of our territorial colleagues about the importance of Northern Canada and the Arctic. Senator Karetak-Lindell, we welcome you to the Senate.
I also want to welcome my colleague Senator Lewis from the Hamlet of Gray, Saskatchewan, another great national agricultural leader — of which we may have three — and a very familiar face among Saskatchewan’s growers and producers. A farmer for over 40 years, it may be cliché to say it, but his family roots run very deep in the Hamlet of Gray and in Saskatchewan.
On top of his expertise as a practitioner in the agri-food industry, Senator Lewis brings a special background and skill not commonly seen in the Senate — he was a firefighter. Any person willing to put on a firefighter’s helmet and uniform to help people in danger is a true hero in my books. Your courage and dedication to your community are most welcome here.
Therefore, by the powers vested in me as acting leader of the Canadian Senators Group today, I hereby deem Senator Lewis as our official Senate firefighter, responsible for putting out political fires that we never see here.
Welcome to the Senate. On behalf of all my colleagues within the Canadian Senators Group, to our two new colleagues, welcome to the Senate of Canada.
Honourable senators, I’m beginning to feel a bit of déjà vu, but it remains an honour to rise on behalf of the Progressive Senate Group to join the other leaders in welcoming more newly sworn-in senators.
Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell is no stranger to Parliament Hill, so I’m certain she’s already noticed the differences between the two chambers. Nunavut has been lacking a representative in the Senate for far too long, but it is often said that good things come to those who wait. I have no doubt that Senator Karetak-Lindell will be an excellent advocate for the North, and I look forward to having another strong female Inuk voice in the Senate. Welcome, Senator Karetak-Lindell.
Senator Todd Lewis is also no stranger to Parliament Hill, having appeared as a committee witness both here and in the other place. His advocacy for the agricultural industry, his province of Saskatchewan and western agriculture in general is, as we have heard, commendable. He has shown himself to be a fierce defender of producers, inviting the former Prime Minister to his farm to speak directly to him about his opposition to carbon pricing. That kind of tenacity and commitment to dialogue is important, and I look forward to your contributions in our chamber. Welcome, Senator Lewis.
On behalf of the Progressive Senate Group, it is my pleasure to officially welcome you both to the Senate. We look forward to working with you. Wela’lin. Thank you.
