Role Canadian Senator | Name Maria Chaput Political party Liberal | |
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Education University of Saskatchewan Office Canadian Senator since 2002 | ||
Maria Chaput (born May 7, 1942) is a former member of the Canadian Senate representing the Senatorial Division of Manitoba. She is the first franco-Manitoban woman to be appointed to the upper house of the Parliamenof Canada.
On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Maria Chaput, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. The Senators referred to themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even though they were no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus.
Chaput announced her retirement from the Senate on February 4, 2016, effective March 1, 2016, due to kidney health issues she'd been managing for "a few years." Despite her doctor's recommendation, she held off retirement until the Liberals won the 2015 federal election saying: "I just didn't want to give my seat to [ Stephen Harper ]. That's what I told my doctor and he said, 'Well, that's your decision,' and I said 'Exactly.'" She supported Trudeau's move to a non-partisan senate appointment process.