New Brunswick Sen. John Wallace retiring after eight years in upper chamber
OTTAWA — A one-time Conservative senator from New Brunswick says he has served long enough in the Senate and is ready to step down now — several years before his mandatory retirement date.
Now-independent Sen. John Wallace’s decision marks the first time a senator appointed by former prime minister Stephen Harper has stuck with the eight-year term limit the Conservatives unsuccessfully pushed as part of a broader package of reforms to the upper chamber.
The mandatory retirement age for senators is 75, which Wallace wasn’t set to hit until 2024.
Wallace was part of a group of 18 senators Harper appointed in early 2008, each of whom backed the Conservatives’ Senate reform agenda, including term limits. Wallace said the government of the day never asked him to commit to retiring after eight years, but he personally thought it was enough time for him to serve in the Senate.