Maria Chaput Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Maria Chaput
Office:Senator from Manitoba
Appointed:Adrienne Clarkson
Successor:Marilou McPhedran
Term Start:December 12, 2002
Term End:March 1, 2016
Birth Date:7 May 1942
Birth Place:Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada
Party:Liberal (until 2014)
Independent Liberal
(2014-present)
Residence:Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes, Manitoba

Maria Emma Chaput [1] (born May 7, 1942) is a former member of the Senate of Canada representing the Senatorial Division of Manitoba. She is the first franco-Manitoban woman to be appointed to the upper house of the Parliament of Canada.

On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Chaput, to be removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents.[2] The Senators continued to refer themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even though they were constitutionally no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus.[3]

Chaput announced her retirement from the Senate on February 4, 2016, effective March 1, 2016, due to kidney health issues that she had 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.'"[4] She supported Trudeau's move to a non-partisan senate appointment process.

Chaput was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022.[1]

References

  1. Web site: Order of Canada appointees – December 2022 . The Governor General of Canada . 29 December 2022 . 29 December 2022 .
  2. News: Justin Trudeau removes senators from Liberal caucus . January 29, 2014 . James . Cudmore . CBC News . December 10, 2021.
  3. News: Trudeau's expulsion catches Liberal senators by surprise . January 29, 2014. Globe and Mail. January 29, 2014.
  4. News: Manitoba Senator Maria Chaput resigns, says kept seat to fight Harper . February 4, 2016 . CBC News . December 10, 2021.

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