Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Quebec’s Leo Housakos new Senate Speaker

CP32962906
Conservative Senator Leo Housakos is shown in Montreal on Jan., 9, 2009. Housakos has been named Speaker of the upper chamber, replacing Pierre Claude Nolin who died last month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

OTTAWA – Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos of Quebec has been named Speaker of the upper chamber, replacing Pierre Claude Nolin who died last month.

Housakos, 47, was unanimously elected Speaker on a temporary basis last December, to fill in as Nolin fought a rare form of cancer.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the appointment is backed by both the government and opposition leaders in the Senate.

The new Speaker is a businessman appointed to the Senate in 2008.

Sen. Claude Carignan, government leader in the Senate, says Housakos supports modernizing the upper house to make it more responsible and accountable.

Harper says Housakos’s work on Senate committees, as well as his time filling in for Nolin, will serve him well in the chair.

News from © The Canadian Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms.

Related Articles