Joseph A. Day (January 24, 1945 – May 27, 2024) was a Canadian politician. He was a Canadian Senator from October 4, 2001 until January 24, 2020, and was the leader of the Senate Liberal Caucus from June 15, 2016, to November 14, 2019. He became the interim leader of the Progressive Senate Group on November 14, 2019, and served for slightly less than one month in the role. On the eve of his pending retirement from the Senate, Day tweeted his farewell remarks. He mentioned that it was an honour to serve his fellow New Brunswickers and all Canadians. Furthermore, he also gave a farewell speech. He retired from the Senate on January 24, 2020, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. Day subsequently earned a Bachelor of Law degree from Queen's University and a Masters of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School. Over the course of his legal career, Day has been recognized as a specialist in intellectual property matters by the Law Society of Upper Canada, and is a fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. According to Senate Opposition leader James Cowan, the Senators will still refer to themselves as Liberals even if they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus.

Day was elected leader of the Senate Liberal Caucus on June 15, 2016.

With the Senate Liberal Caucus facing losing official parliamentary caucus status in 2020 with a third of its caucus facing mandatory retirements on their turning age 75, Day announced that the Senate Liberal Caucus had been dissolved and a new Progressive Senate Group formed in its wake, with the entire membership joining the new group, including Day, later that day Senator Terry Mercer would be moving into the whip/caucus chair role, that Senator would become the new deputy leader, and that the interim monikers were being removed at the same time.

See also

  • Veterans Affairs Canada

References

  • Liberal Senate Forum
  • Senator Joseph A. Day - Personal Web Site