Senator Senator Colin Kenny

Appointed to the Senate by the late former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Senator Colin Kenny represents the province of Ontario and the Senatorial Division of Rideau. He has served in the Senate of Canada since June 29, 1984.

He is currently a Member of the following Senate Committees: Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources; National Security and Defence, for which he also serves as Chair; and the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs. Senator Kenny has been particularly active in the Senate, and has been the author and co-sponsor of several Private Members Bills. Tobacco and industry responsibility have been a particular area of focus. He has also served as a Delegate to meetings and debates held by organizations including the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). He has had a stellar record of attendance in the Senate, which, in 1999, tallied only ten days of absence over the preceding five years.

Senator Kenny’s career outside of the Senate has primarily been in the public sector. His early political career began in 1968, when he was the Executive Director of the Liberal Party in Ontario. From 1970 until 1979, he worked in the Prime Minister’s Office as Special Assistant, Director of Operations, Policy Advisor, and Assistant Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. From 1980 to 1984, he was an executive with Dome Petroleum in Calgary, Alberta.

Senator Kenny was born in Montreal, Quebec, on December 10, 1943.