The Honourable Paul J. Massicotte
Inquiry--Debate Adjourned
November 18, 2025
Rose pursuant to notice of November 5, 2025:
That she will call the attention of the Senate to the career of former senator the Honourable Paul Massicotte.
She said: Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to our esteemed and distinguished colleague, the Honourable Paul Massicotte, who I know is watching this Senate meeting.
Paul, your early departure from the Senate took us by surprise, but, in the end, it was in keeping with your character: decisive and effective.
Senator Massicotte was undoubtedly one of the greatest pioneers of and advocates for the modern Senate. Alongside Senator Stephen Greene, he chaired the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization. Through its rigorous work and innovative reports, that committee laid the foundations for how we operate today and continues to serve as a benchmark.
However, this work, which followed the reform that began in 2015, does not alone do justice to Senator Massicotte’s vision and the courage he demonstrated in building an independent Senate.
In 2003, during his very first week as a senator, far from being intimidated by his new duties and the formality of the upper chamber, Senator Massicotte voted his conscience against his party. Many years later, the Liberal government leader at the time, the Honourable Sharon Carstairs, acknowledged the need for a non-partisan Senate and the soundness of Senator Massicotte’s vision.
In 2013, Paul shared with future prime minister Justin Trudeau, then leader of the second opposition party, the idea that senators should no longer sit in their party caucuses in order to be able to fully carry out their duty of sober second thought, free from partisan considerations. That idea was subsequently taken up and implemented by his party leader, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, when he became the twenty-third Prime Minister of Canada.
Honourable Paul Massicotte, your efforts and leadership have greatly modernized and improved our work. You leave a remarkable legacy to this institution that is so dear to your heart and ours.
The achievements of Senator Massicotte — who, at the time of his departure, was one of this institution’s most senior members — are naturally not limited to modernization. Notably, he chaired the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources. He always brought to his parliamentary work his experience and expertise as an administrator, accountant and entrepreneur.
Proud of his Franco-Manitoban origins, Senator Massicotte represented Quebec with dignity and became one of the Senate’s leading advocates for the Canadian francophonie and the international Francophonie.
Dear Paul, since you were one of the first senators to join the Independent Senators Group after its inception, on behalf of our group, I offer you our best wishes for a wonderful retirement in the sun, surrounded by your family and loved ones.
Thank you for your leadership and for being the quiet force that characterized your time in this chamber. All the best, and I hope to see you again soon.
Honourable senators, I rise today on behalf of the Government Representative’s Office to bid a warm farewell to our distinguished colleague the Honourable Paul Massicotte.
When I was first appointed to the Senate, Senator Massicotte came over to introduce himself and mentioned that some of his friends from the golf world had asked about me. It turns out we had a number of acquaintances, not the least of whom were Marc Courtois — brother of former senator Nicole Eaton — and John Peacock, whom I got to know from sitting on corporate boards.
I know many colleagues will speak about the influential role that Senator Massicotte played in the modernization of our chamber. Therefore, I will instead focus on where I had the privilege of working alongside Senator Massicotte.
The opportunity came during my sponsorship of Bill C-49, which modernized the Atlantic Accords to establish a regulatory framework for offshore renewable energy projects in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. As chair, Senator Massicotte guided the Energy Committee’s study of the bill with professionalism, fairness and an extraordinary depth of knowledge. While sitting in on the Energy Committee meetings during that study and while I was a member of the Banking Committee, I saw first-hand what colleagues across this chamber have long known: Senator Massicotte brings the full weight of his lived experience in business, governance and environmental stewardship to every file he touches. He has an ability to balance principle with pragmatism, and he approaches complex issues with thoughtful precision.
Of course, anyone who knows Senator Massicotte also knows that his expertise extends beyond legislation, and he possesses a well-earned reputation for curating exceptional things, whether it’s a policy position, a committee process or a cellar full of wine bottles worth savouring. In fact, I’ve told him that whenever he visits Ottawa or Newfoundland and Labrador, I’ll handle the cooking but he’ll be in charge of bringing the wine. Given his impeccable taste, I have no concerns about the pairing.
Senator Massicotte, thank you for your dedication, your discipline and your unfailing courtesy. Thank you for bringing a steady, seasoned voice to some of the most consequential issues of our time, and thank you for the warmth, humour and generosity that have made you not only a respected colleague but also a cherished one. On behalf of the Government Representative’s Office, we wish you the very best in the years ahead. We will miss you, and I look forward to that dinner. Thank you.
Honourable senators, today, I’d like to take a few moments to reflect on the career of a colleague and friend, former senator Paul Massicotte, who resigned from the Senate this past September after more than two decades of service to this august chamber.
While I wasn’t here when Paul first arrived in 2003, I had the privilege of working alongside him for many years, and, from the very beginning, it was clear that Paul came to this institution with a purpose, backed by an impressive wealth of experience in the private sector.
Senator Massicotte’s journey extends from Western Canada to Quebec, where he established a solid reputation as a chartered accountant. His time with the Alexis Nihon group had a lasting impact on Montreal’s real estate sector, and his role as the head of Attractions Hippiques only strengthened his influence within Quebec’s business community. As a Montrealer, I can personally attest that Senator Massicotte remains a respected figure in Montreal’s business circles.
However, Paul’s contributions extend far beyond the business world. He has always shown a deep commitment to public service, particularly through his work with organizations like the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré hospital foundation and the YMCA foundation of Greater Montreal. His commitment to those causes is rooted in the same sense of duty that ultimately led him to this chamber.
When Paul joined the Senate, he brought that same spirit of service and a pragmatic approach to the issues we face. He was never afraid to challenge the status quo, especially when it came to making the Senate more effective, more accountable and more relevant.
Paul’s financial expertise made him a valuable voice in discussions around Canada’s economic policy, and his leadership on the Senate’s Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources helped shape our country’s approach to energy for decades to come.
While we didn’t always agree on every little — and sometimes even big — issue, I’ve always admired Paul’s deep knowledge and his drive to find real, workable solutions through debate and differing perspectives, consistent with the beauty of the institution we serve, and he always did it with respect. But perhaps what I respected most about Senator Massicotte was his ability to balance fierce partisanship with a genuine commitment to reform in this institution.
In a chamber where we all come from different backgrounds and bring our own perspectives, it’s not always easy to see past dividing lines, but Paul always made that effort with everyone.
He understood that for this institution to remain effective, we need to be constantly examining how we operate and how we can better serve Canadians. Beyond the respect this earned him among colleagues, it has also undoubtedly left a lasting imprint on this chamber and on our national dialogue more broadly.
Paul, as you move on to whatever comes next, I want to thank you for your years of service and the impact you’ve had on this institution. And he has been impactful.
Paul, of course, was born in Manitoba, adopted in Quebec and appointed by Prime Minister Chrétien, which brought him to Ottawa. He was always a fierce Liberal, a partisan Liberal who embraced the Independent Senators Group, but many of you don’t know that Paul was a reformer — not a Preston Manning type of a reformer but pretty close — as most of the years I was in this institution, and he was a Liberal, and I was, and still am, a Conservative, he always talked about reform, right, Percy? He and Stephen Greene, who was a Conservative, were running around talking about reform. Paul, who would have thought I would call you one of the great reformers in the Parliament of Canada?
My dear friend, I’ll tell you this: If there are characteristics that always come to mind when it comes to Paul Massicotte, they are class and integrity. Paul, on behalf of the Conservative Senate caucus, those who served with you in the past and current caucus, we wish you all the best, my friend. Goodbye. Thank you.
Honourable senators, there’s a quote here that says, “There’s no limits relative to what we can change.”
This sounds like a quote from an inspirational poster on someone’s wall, but it is in fact the 2015 rallying cry for change to this institution from former senator Paul Massicotte.
Senator Massicotte was part of the brave duo who brought to life the Working Sessions on Senate Modernization. I was fortunate to be among the few folks who attended those sessions, and I was asked by Senator Massicotte to help facilitate one of the workshops on that day.
It took courage to take on the topic of Senate reform at that time. The idea was unpopular with senators on both sides, and there were only two sides at the time. He accepted the challenge, and he was here long enough to see the seeds that he and former Senator Greene planted take root and bear the fruit we see today. We often reverently speak of those early meetings as the “Greene-Massicotte sessions.” It sounds like a jazz record. It is a testament to their daring initiative, their boldness and their steadfast resolve.
Senator Massicotte is a unique individual who bridged two divides. Born, raised and educated in Winnipeg, he became a Western Canadian business luminary in real estate construction and development. Then, he moved to Montreal and led in several fields including banking, urban development and entertainment. For those in the business world, he was at one time recognized as “the king of MURBs,” or multi-unit residential buildings. He was an innovator. In fact, when I was in my teens, I worked on a number of construction projects for his company.
He was hugely successful in business, and it involved large, innovative, grand-scale kinds of projects. And he demonstrated a clear acumen for the management of complex financial matters. He should be very proud, and I’m sure he and his family are proud, of that track record.
He should be equally proud of his intense respect for taxpayers. He was a cheapskate when it came to spending money in his office budget. He was consistently at the bottom of the list for office expenses by senators, and he was relentless in reaching for value in every dollar that he spent on behalf of Canadians here in the Senate.
His national network brought him to the Senate, where we benefited from his expertise and from his example. We heard about his insights and solutions to climate change challenges as Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources. He built bridges across oceans, moved the needle on Canada-Asia relations and advocated for political institutional change, as we have talked about, in this chamber.
He came to the Senate not through, as he once described, “institutionalized partisanship” but by his competence, innovation, abilities and extraordinary contribution in his working life to the country.
We all know he is watching these tributes on his computer at home. On behalf of his past colleagues in the Canadian Senators Group, we wish him a happy retirement from the Senate.
All the best, Paul. We miss you already, but your voice and your actions will reverberate here for years to come.
Honourable senators, I rise today on behalf of the Progressive Senate Group to pay tribute to the Honourable Paul Massicotte, a former seatmate of mine, who retired from the Senate this past September, on his seventy-fourth birthday.
As we have heard, Senator Massicotte served in this place for over 20 years and has certainly left his mark on our institution. Having been a long-time member of both the Banking Committee and the Energy Committee, it’s no wonder that his work often focused on the economy, the environment and how these issues intersect.
As we heard, Senate modernization was also an important subject for Senator Massicotte. It was one he pursued from a truly bipartisan angle as a then-Liberal working together with then-Conservative Senator Greene. Though it may have seemed an unlikely pairing, the work achieved by this duo is truly to be commended.
In 2015, they circulated a questionnaire to all honourable senators to solicit feedback on ideas for Senate reform, hosted informal meetings to foster dialogue and, ultimately, served as two of the first witnesses before the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization. Senators Massicotte and Greene did not simply speak about the modernization of this institution — they took concrete steps to implement changes. I commend them for this important legacy.
I’ll conclude by sharing a quote from Senator Massicotte’s first speech in the Senate on the motion to adopt the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne. Though delivered over 20 years ago, the topics he covered and advice he offered are still very much relevant today. He said:
Honourable senators, I consider myself somewhat privileged to have been born in this vast and rich land. I count myself fortunate to be able to live in a country so supportive of tolerance and social justice, a prime example of diversity and multiculturalism to the world.
Like most of you, I did not choose this country. I inherited it. I will keep my shoulder to the wheel so that our children and grandchildren can continue to shape the marvellous work in progress that is Canada.
Senator Massicotte, thank you for keeping your shoulder to the wheel. On behalf of the Progressive Senate Group, I wish you a wonderful and well-deserved retirement.
Wela’lin. Thank you.
Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to our former colleague, the Honourable Paul Massicotte. Our colleague Senator Ringuette was unable to be with us today, but she wanted to send him a message. Senator Massicotte, here is what Senator Ringuette wanted to share with you today:
Honourable senators,
It is with a heavy heart that I rise today to mark the retirement of our former colleague and friend, the Honourable Paul Massicotte.
Paul Massicotte was appointed to the Senate in 2003, shortly after my own appointment.
We served together in the Senate for 22 years, both in the Senate Liberal caucus and in the Independent Senators Group. Over the years, we developed a rare friendship and a unified way of thinking and acting.
In fact, of those appointed by former prime minister Jean Chrétien, only Senator Downe and I remain — the old-timers.
This is Senator Ringuette, obviously. Well, I did say this is on behalf of Senator Ringuette, so I’m honoured to deliver that for her.
Throughout these years, we served together on the Banking, Commerce and the Economy Committee, the National Finance Committee and the Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Time and again, Senator Massicotte demonstrated a deep understanding of the financial system and business affairs.
Devoted to public service, Senator Massicotte also served on the boards of directors of the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as well as on the boards of charitable organizations, such as the Ste. Anne’s Hospital Fund and the Greater Montreal YMCA Foundation.
In all these roles, Paul was principled, persuasive and intelligent yet always open to hearing other points of view. Insightful, resourceful and witty, it was always a pleasure to participate in debates with him.
The Honourable Paul Massicotte is a staunch defender of the Senate and the Constitution. His contributions to the Senate Modernization Committee were key to advancing our institution, championing non-partisanship to ensure that we fulfill our role as the chamber of sober second thought.
True to his convictions, to the Senate’s role as the chamber of sober second thought and to our constitutional responsibility not to initiate spending, Paul consistently voted in favour of budgets, regardless of the government in power. He was, in every sense of the word, an honourable senator.
Hats off to you, dear Paul, and above all, thank you for your contributions to the Senate. I will miss you a lot.
With deep gratitude, I wish you many happy years in your well-deserved retirement.
Warmest regards,
From your colleague and dear friend, the Honourable Pierrette Ringuette.
Colleagues, that was from Senator Ringuette. Very emotional. I would be remiss if I didn’t say a few words myself to honour our former colleague. I’ll get two rounds of applause for this speech. We’ll see if it happens.
Before I joined the Senate in 2019, who didn’t know of Senator Massicotte? Everyone knew of him. He was an icon. We’ve all heard the tributes here today. He was admired by many, myself included, and he was always a mentor to younger executives like me. He was truly a model to follow.
We both reside in Montreal, we are both CPAs, or Chartered Professional Accountants, and we have both been heavily involved in the province’s business community. Senator Massicotte’s business experience and knowledge brought extreme value to the Senate. His interventions were never self-serving and were always focused on the public good. Whether the subject was economic competitiveness, responsible governance, financial literacy, housing or the environment, he consistently challenged us to aim higher and to think beyond the moment. That was important, to think beyond the moment and take the long-term view. His work on the modernization of the Senate was seminal.
But beyond the senator, there is the man — kind, fair, generous with his time and attentive to others, a colleague who built bridges rather than divisions. He was respected by all, and I certainly appreciated his kindness and our many discussions.
With his retirement, the Senate is losing a big piece, someone whose quiet leadership, political acumen, sage advice and intellectual brilliance will be sorely missed.
Thank you, Senator Massicotte, not only for what you’ve accomplished but also for how you accomplished it.
Happy retirement, dear Paul. May the years ahead be as memorable as the legacy you leave behind in the Parliament of Canada. Thank you.
Honourable senators, briefly, since I’ve been outed as the long-serving senator by Senator Ringuette, I wanted to mention that former Senator Massicotte and I were appointed on the same day, and Paul would well remember that. I know he’s watching tonight.
Actually, there was a plan. Paul was a very well-known businessperson, and others have recounted all the contributions he has made in the community, particularly in Western Canada and Quebec. For partisan purposes, he was an extremely successful fundraiser in Quebec. At the time, I was Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister. Knowing it would create quite the media firestorm if the two of us were appointed, I had arranged for an extremely prominent Canadian to be appointed at the same time who would draw all the media attention. Unfortunately for me and Paul, that person declined at the last minute, so Paul and I had a bit of a media firestorm, Paul mostly in Quebec and to a lesser degree in Manitoba, and I got the rest of the flak across the country.
I got to sit with Paul, of course, in the Liberal caucus at the time, and I was struck by how he quickly left that partisan life behind and how he focused on his responsibilities in the Senate. His business experience, his education and his CPA training served him extremely well. He was a very solid member of the Senate Liberal caucus, and he made a tremendous contribution — and Conservative senators will understand this — at the national Liberal caucus, where we would meet with members of Parliament every week. His input was highly valued at the time.
When he and Senator Greene started their Senate modernization project, like others, I was invited. Senator Tannas alluded to this. We were invited to little chats and working sessions. I remember leaving one session, thinking, “Wow, these guys are spinning their wheels. There is so much opposition to this in the Senate.” People had put down very firm decisions, but Paul and Stephen Greene continued to raise awareness and continued to educate senators about what the chamber could be like as opposed to what it was like historically. For that, we all benefit. We benefit every day.
Others have alluded to this as well, and I want to highlight the fact that Senator Massicotte was a tremendous person in terms of his personal character and how he treated everyone. Senator Petten mentioned her involvement. We have all had similar experiences. He had the highest regard for other senators and other people in the community that he served. We will miss him greatly.
Paul, I wish you the very best going forward.
Thank you, colleagues.
