Carney appoints chief strategist to Senate with cabinet rank, ending Trudeau-era independence model

Prime Minister Mark Carney is appointing Tom Pitfield, his principal secretary, to the Senate with a seat in cabinet as government leader. The move reinstates a model Trudeau dismantled in 2014, when he removed Liberal senators from party caucus and created an independent advisory board to depoliticize appointments. Pitfield is expected to be announced Tuesday. The appointment gives him direct cabinet access to coordinate legislation across both chambers, marking a departure from the arm's-length Senate architecture of the past decade.