COLUMN: Think Again – Senator Don Plett made a positive difference

Does the date, May 14, 2025, mean anything to you? It should. That is when Senator Don Plett turns 75.

Under Canadian law, Senators cannot serve past the age of 75. As a result, Plett must retire from the Senate next week. It will be up to Prime Minister Mark Carney to select his replacement.

The Senate itself was created in 1867. As the so-called Upper House, it is often referred to as the place of “sober second thought.” All legislation passed by the House of Commons must be ratified by the Senate.

Unlike Members of Parliament, senators are appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister. This means that senators don’t have to face the electorate and can tackle issues that extend far beyond the regular electoral cycle. While the Senate sometimes delays House of Commons legislation, it usually, in the end, defers to the elected MPs.

I’ve known Don Plett personally for more than 20 years. I first met him when he was serving as a national councillor for the Canadian Alliance. Plett subsequently became president of the Canadian Alliance, and later of the Conservative Party—which was formed from the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives.

In addition, Plett served as campaign manager for Vic Toews when he successfully ran to become MP for Provencher. Not only that, Plett played a key role in recruiting Toews to come to our riding in the first place. Suffice it to say, Plett has long been a mover and shaker in Conservative circles.

To be honest, I didn’t like Plett much when I first met him. I thought that he was arrogant, bullheaded, and much too aggressive. It seemed to me that he cared more about the nuts and bolts of party administration than he did about upholding conservative principles.

It turns out that I couldn’t have been more wrong! Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the depth of wisdom that Plett brings to everything he does. Since his appointment to the Senate in 2009, Plett has emerged as one of the most consistent defenders of conservative principles in Canada. Not only that, Plett has garnered respect from Canadians of all political persuasions.

Anyone who wants to see Senator Plett in action should watch his farewell speech delivered in the Senate chamber on May 1. In a one-hour speech, Plett provides a whirlwind tour of his personal life and his political career. During that speech, Plett also talked about the depth of his Christian faith, and he defended the importance of religious freedom.

Plett also provided some wise counsel about the future of the Senate. In 2014, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked Liberal senators out of the Liberal caucus and announced that he was making the Senate non-partisan. Unfortunately, what really happened is the Senate became more ideologically monolithic than ever. Plett was correct to point out that unless the Senate returns to having traditional political caucuses, it will become increasingly dysfunctional. Hopefully, Prime Minister Mark Carney will reverse the damage done by Trudeau.

Speaking of the prime minister, Carney will soon have the opportunity to appoint a new Manitoba senator. While it’s obviously too much to hope that he will select a Conservative like Plett, it would be nice if he didn’t reflexively appoint someone who opposes everything that Plett stood for. It would be a classy move if Carney appointed someone who shared at least some of Plett’s values. We need that perspective in the Senate.

I wish Senator Don Plett many years of happy retirement. He has certainly earned it.

Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and deputy mayor of Steinbach. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.