Cornwall, Ont. mayor Bernadette Clement appointed to Senate
Cornwall, Ont. mayor Bernadette Clement has been appointed to the Senate of Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office made the announcement Tuesday. Clement is among three new senators appointed by Richard Wagner, Administrator of the Government of Canada, to fill vacancies for Ontario and New Brunswick.
In a press release Tuesday, Clement said she is resigning as mayor of Cornwall effective immediately.
“This is an incredible honour, which feels both thrilling and wistful,” Clement wrote. “It’s a tremendous opportunity, which I cannot wait to start. However, I am very sad to resign from my role as the Mayor of Cornwall. It’s quite remarkable that you can feel such opposing emotions intensely and at the same time.”
Clement was elected mayor of Cornwall in 2018. She is the first woman to serve as mayor of the eastern Ontario city and she is the first Black woman to serve as a mayor in Ontario. Prior to this, she was a three-term city councillor. Clement, a lawyer, was born in Montreal, attended the University of Ottawa, obtaining degrees in Civil Law and Common Law, and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1991. She began her legal career with the non-profit corporation Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic in Cornwall, where she still works today.
Clement is also a former federal Liberal candidate in the riding of Stormont--Dundas--South Glengarry in the 2011 and 2015 elections.
"Through various professional and volunteer leadership roles, she has served many members of her community, including newcomers, women fleeing violence, and people with developmental disabilities. She is also a tireless advocate for injured workers," said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
Clement will be the seventh Black person appointed to the Senate of Canada since the first, Senator Anne Cools, was appointed in 1984, and the fourth Black woman.
The other two newly announced senators are Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yusuf and St. John Port Authority president and CEO James Quinn.
A mixture of emotions
In an interview with CTV News Ottawa, Clement said that she's thinking of her mother, who passed away earlier this year.
"My mother died a couple of months ago and it's been very difficult during a pandemic to lose mom, and I keep thinking of her and how she would react to this news, so it's poignant for me," she said.
Her constituents in Cornwall are congratulatory for her new position, but also sad, she said.
"I'm getting congratulations from friends and residents here in Cornwall but I'm also getting messages from people saying, 'We would have wanted you to finish your term. We wanted more of you as mayor,' so, I feel sad about leaving."
Clement said she loved her time as mayor of Cornwall, and while she's leaving that post, she's not leaving Cornwall behind.
"Cornwall is where I live. I chose Cornwall 30 years ago; I got on a Greyhound bus and got a job at the legal aid clinic and I'm still employed at the legal clinic. I have been a municipal councillor for 15 years, so it's hard for me to leave things. I don't leave them. So, I'm not going to leave Cornwall. I'm not going to say goodbye," she said. "I'm just going to say thank you to Cornwall for putting trust in me and electing me as a city councillor three times and as the mayor and for giving me the confidence to do this next big thing."
Clement said she would take some time to look into the work that's being done in the Senate as settles into her new role, but added that she believes her experience on city council will be an asset.
"As a mayor, as a councillor, you're always part of a council, of a team, and I'm bringing that into this process. I think that that's important in the Senate."
Some of the topics Clement said she is excited to look at issues surrounding the environment and infrastructure, but she also said diversity and representation are important.
"It's really been so important this last year, where we have leaned into issues around Black Lives Matter and systemic racism," she said. "It's very important that I wear all the hats that I wear. It's important for people to see themselves reflected in every place where Canadian decisions take place."
Her message to others interested in politics, especially girls and women, is to try.
"It's so important not to be afraid of winning or losing because that's where you learn. It's important to support women running for office, and to be inspired by women and girls around you doing wonderful things. It's important to just do it," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
BREAKING Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.