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Or sign-in if you have an account.Prime Minister Mark Carney at the 2026 NATO Leaders Summit on July 8, 2026. Photo by Serdar Ozsoy /Getty ImagesMark Carney has appointed four senators, thus checking off another rite of passage for prime ministers. Two of them — a medical researcher and a chartered professional accountant — are perfectly respectable worthies about whom little is known and nothing interesting can be said. The two other new senators, Tom Pitfield and Richard Martel, tell us much more about Canadian politics in 2026.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorFirst, let’s take Sen. Pitfield, son of the late Sen. Pitfield, one of those famously apolitical civil servants who somehow end up with a Liberal appointment the moment they leave the public service. Young Thomas, meanwhile, grew up as the playmate of Justin Trudeau, whose father his father served as Clerk of the Privy Council.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againPitfield junior ended up as Trudeau junior’s digital strategist, before making himself indispensable to Carney as his principal secretary, overcoming the handicap of having belonged to Trudeau’s wedding party. Now he is rewarded by being elevated to the Senate, while his wife Anna Gainey continues to be a junior minister in Carney’s government. Not for nothing do they say that Canada is the world’s biggest village.But his appointment is being overshadowed — if Senate appointments can ever shadow something — by that of Richard Martel, Conservative MP for Chicoutimi— Le Fjord. Once a successful junior hockey league coach, Martel was recruited in 2017 as a star candidate and stormed a seat normally inaccessible for the Conservatives. He even served a term as Erin O’Toole’s Quebec lieutenant.But one got the impression that he did not enjoy life in opposition. When I was an advisor responsible for his portfolio, I could never get my emails returned, and shadow minister for sport isn’t really a demanding position. And since the Conservatives are looking as far from power as they have ever been, why not use his remaining decade of eligibility (he is 65; senators retire at 75) to do whatever it is that senators do?Of course, the reason why so many Conservatives are crying foul at his appointment is that Carney clearly decided that if Martel would not defect, he would become a sinecurist. There is little chance Chicoutimi returns another Tory MP, and every chance that the Liberals pick up the seat they held until Martel came into the picture. Ryan Alford, a law professor (and friend) even went so far as to argue that Carney was abusing the Royal prerogative by appointing an opposition MP for partisan gain.I disagree. Though Canadian prime ministers rarely appoint senators from the Opposition, it is not unheard of, nor is it beyond the constitutional pale to appoint your opponent to something to get their seat. In the early days of Confederation, it was not unknown for opposition MPs to become postmaster or collector of customs in this fashion. As to the Senate, didn’t Pierre Trudeau pick up another Quebec seat by kicking the Progressive Conservative MP Claude Wagner to the Senate? (Claude is the father of Chief Justice Richard Wagner — remember, Canada is a village).Now, Conservatives may fairly complain that Canada can hardly be a democracy if the prime minister can simply pick off the opposition’s MPs one by one by giving them jobs and other inducements to defect or to leave. The fear is not without its foundations: until 1931, a federal MP who was appointed minister mid-Parliament had to stand in a by-election, an old English rule which was designed to prevent the Crown from eliminating opponents by showering them with jobs.Yet, I would suggest that the Conservative complaints about Martel mistake the symptom for the underlying condition. Morale is clearly low in the CPC caucus, MPs don’t feel that another three years on the backbenches will get them anywhere, or that Carney’s Teflon will scratch. Being in opposition is always a miserable experience; but if an MP feels that the party is going nowhere fast, why not leave and accept a bit of sugar from the prime minister?To lose an MP to a government bribe is a misfortune; to lose five is carelessness. It might not seem like it, but politicians are humans, and they need to be watered like plants (instead of being treated like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed with manure). It also helps to have a plan — whether it works or not — beyond trudging along and hope that something will change. Otherwise, Carney has literally thousands of patronage positions, and there are only so many Tory MPs left.Yuan Yi Zhu is assistant professor of international relations and international law at Leiden University and an associate member of Nuffield College, Oxford. He is a former senior policy advisor to the leader of the official Opposition. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.