Donald Neil Plett (born May 14, 1950) is a Canadian senator who has served as the
leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate
In Canada, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (french: Chef de l'opposition au Sénat) is the leader of the largest party in the Senate not in government.
Even though the position's name is very similar to the Leader of the Oppositio ...
since November 5, 2019. He is the founding president of the National Council of the Conservative Party of Canada and the longest serving individual to have held this position.
Early life
From 1987 to 2007 Plett, was owner and manager of Landmark Mechanical, a heating and ventilation company in Landmark,
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
, that was started by his father Archie Plett in 1957. He stepped down as manager in 2007 and his sons continue in the family business.
According to the Senate website Plett,
His father Archie, a lifelong Conservative, introduced Plett to the world of politics when he was just fifteen. He mentored and encouraged him and in 1965 Plett worked as a youth volunteer on the Honourable
Jake Epp
Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadian executive and former politician.
Life and career
Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering politics. J ...
's federal campaign.
In 2000 Plett successfully managed the
Vic Toews
Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Paraguayan-Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a judge of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on ...
Canadian Alliance campaign where Toews defeated incumbent Liberal MP
David Iftody
David Iftody (June 15, 1956 – February 5, 2001) was a Romanian Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2000 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, representing the Manitoba riding of Provencher.
...
by a large margin.
Plett became interim president of the Conservative Party of Canada at its creation in 2003 from the merger of the
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed ...
and the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003.
From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...
and was officially elected to the position in at the party's first policy convention in 2005, defeating Montreal lawyer Brian Mitchell. He was succeeded by John Walsh in 2009.
Senate career
On August 27, 2009, the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Plett was among nine new appointees to the Senate. His is one of many appointments made in thanks to service to the governing Conservative Party. Other appointees include Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, the prime minister's former press secretary, and
Doug Finley
Michael Douglas Finley (July 25, 1946 – May 11, 2013) was a Canadian Senator and was Campaign Director for the Conservative Party of Canada during the 2006 and 2008 federal elections and the party's director of Political Operations.
Histo ...
, former Conservative Party chair.
Senator Plett was appointed Opposition Whip for the Conservative Senate Caucus and serves on the Standing Senate Committee on Legal & Constitutional Affairs and Agriculture & Forestry. He is also Chair of the Advisory Working Group tasked with studying and recommending changes to the Senate's administrative rules.
Plett serves as co-chair of the
Canada-China Legislative Association The Canadian Group of the Canada-China Legislative Association (CCLA) is a non-partisan forum for the discussion of bilateral and multilateral issues facing the two countries. The CCLA was established in 1998 and promotes the exchange of information ...
a
non-partisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...
forum established in 1998 for the discussion of bilateral and multilateral issues concerning Canada and the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. On 1 October 2014 the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) came into force. This date was announced by International Trade Minister Ed Fast in a news release on 12 September 2014.
In a rare move Plett spoke out against the motion into the Senate to suspend
Mike Duffy
Michael Dennis Duffy (born May 27, 1946) is a former Canadian senator and former Canadian television journalist. Prior to his appointment to the upper house in 2008, he was the Ottawa editor for CTV News Channel. In turning 75 on May 27, 202 ...
,
Pamela Wallin
Pamela Wallin (born April 10, 1953) is a Canadian senator, former television journalist, and diplomat. She was appointed to the senate on January 2, 2009, where she initially sat as a Conservative.
Early life and career
Wallin was born in W ...
and
Patrick Brazeau
Patrick Brazeau (born November 11, 1974) is a Canadian senator from Quebec. At the age of 34, he was and is the youngest member of the Senate during his appointment. From February 2006 until January 2009 he held the position of national chief of ...
without pay before a single charge had been laid. Plett, calling on fairness and justice, argued, "Honourable Senators, just because something is within our rights, does not make it the right thing to do." National Post journalist observed that Don Plett, the owner of a plumbing business from Landmark, Manitoba, is representative of the base of the Conservative party.
In 2017, Plett defended fellow Conservative Senator
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
and the Republican Party in the 2020 United States presidential election and Senate elections.
In December 2020, Plett vacationed to Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite government warnings advising against such trips. Plett returned to Canada on December 31 after reconsidering his decision. Earlier that year he'd co-signed a directive barring all MPs and senators from travelling outside Canada as part of interparliamentary delegations.