Trudeau names pollster, former judge to Senate for Ontario and Quebec

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named pollster Donna Dasko and former judge Pierre Dalphond to the Senate. (Photo: Justin Trudeau/Facebook)

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named pollster Donna Dasko and former judge Pierre Dalphond to the Senate.

Dasko will represent Ontario and Dalphond will take a Quebec seat, both as independents.

Dalphond, a noted lawyer and mediator, was appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec in 1995 and to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2002.

He was educated at the University of Montreal and Oxford and worked in both government and private practice before he was named to the bench.

Dasko was formerly senior vice-president of Environics Research Group Ltd., one of the country’s leading research firms.

She now is a fellow at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance and teaches in the master’s program.

Trudeau says he looks forward to working with the new senators.

“Their remarkable knowledge and experience will be a great benefit to our country,” he said in a statement.