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The Honourable Marie-P. (Charette) Poulin
Senator for Northern Ontario, Canada and Counsel at Heenan Blaikie LLP; former VP of CBC
The Honourable Marie-P. (Charette) Poulin was called to the Senate of Canada in September 1995. Senator Poulin is also Counsel in International Affairs at Heenan Blaikie. She has led a distinguished career in public broadcasting, and the public service.
Senator Poulin is a former Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications, and as Chair of the Communications Subcommittee, she led the review on Canada’s international position in communications and telecommunications.
Prior to her appointment to the Senate, Senator Poulin was a deputy minister in the government of Canada: she was Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Communications and Consultations, at the Privy Council Office, then the founding Chairman and CEO of the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal, a federal agency for the self-employed. Prior to this, Senator Poulin was an executive at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/SRC): she held several portfolios, including Regional Radio and Television Operations, Secretary General, Human Resources and Industrial Relations. Prior to her national experience at the CBC/SRC, she was the founding Director for the Northern Ontario French Services (CBON) which included launching a radio production centre in Sudbury and opening more than thirty transmitters in the region. In the earlier part of her career, she worked as a radio producer, a researcher, and a university lecturer.
Senator Poulin was the first francophone woman elected as President of the Liberal Party of Canada, the first woman to chair the Senate Liberal Caucus, the first senator to chair the Northern Ontario Liberal Caucus, the first woman to Co-Chair the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group, the first woman to chair the business group “Regroupement des gens d'affaires (RGA)”.
She is currently Chair of the Canada-France Foundation, Vice-Chair of the Canada-US Inter-Parliamentary Group, and Vice-Chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group; she sits on the Advisory Board of the “CEO of the Year Award”, on the Board of Governors of the Actra Fraternal Benefits Society. She has served on corporate and government boards as well as hospital, arts/entertainment, university, and college boards.
Senator Poulin's achievements have earned her national and international recognition over the years, including, amongst others, the “Prix Marcel Blouin” for the best morning program in Canada, the “Médaille du Conseil de la vie française”, the “Ordre de la Pléiade”, the insignia of “Officier de l'Ordre national de la Légion d'Honneur de la France”, the insignia of the Order of St. John, and was named Person of the Year in 2008 by the “Richelieu International”.
Senator Poulin is a graduate of Laurentian University with a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude), a graduate of the University of Montreal, with a Master's in Social Sciences, a graduate of the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). She was Called to the Bar in Ontario. Laurentian University awarded her an honourary degree of Doctor of Law.
Senator Poulin is married to the international portrait painter Bernard Poulin. They have two adult daughters.
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