Denise Leanne Batters (born June 18, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as a
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
from
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
since January 25, 2013. She was briefly ousted from the national
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
from November 2021 to February 2022, after criticizing then-leader
Erin O'Toole
Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham since 2012. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Offici ...
, but remained a member of the
Senate Conservative Caucus.
Early life and education
Born in Regina, Batters received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Regina in 1991. In 1994, she obtained her
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...
degree from the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
and was admitted to the bar in 1995.
Legal career
Batters was in private practice until 2007 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2008.
[ From 2007 to 2012, she served as the Chief of Staff to Saskatchewan Minister of Justice Don Morgan.][ From 2012 to 2013, Batters worked for Saskatchewan's Crown Investments Corporation as executive director of regulatory affairs.]["Stephen Harper appoints five new senators"]
''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
'', January 25, 2012.
Mental health advocate
On June 29, 2009, Batters' husband, former Palliser Conservative Member of Parliament Dave Batters, died by suicide at the age of 39. In the wake of his death, Denise Batters became a mental health advocate. She organized a number of Dave Batters Memorial Golf Tournaments, which raised more than $215,000 for mental illness awareness and suicide prevention. Denise directed the proceeds of these fundraisers towards the production of a television commercial aimed at men aged 30–50 struggling with anxiety and depression. In 2012, she testified before the House of Commons Health Committee in support of a national suicide prevention framework. Denise Batters was awarded the Canadian Association on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) Champion of Mental Health Award (Parliamentarian) in 2015. In October 2017, she received a "Difference Maker" award from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH, pronounced , french: Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale) is a psychiatric teaching hospital located in Toronto and ten community locations throughout the province of Ontario, Canada. I ...
(CAMH) for her work in the area of mental health.
Senate career
In January 2013, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
. Senator Batters served as Deputy Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs until 2021. She served as Deputy Chair of the Senate Standing Committee of Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration from November 2017 to April 2020. She has also been a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, and the Subcommittee on Senate Communications.
In November 2021, about two months after the 2021 Canadian federal election
The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minist ...
, Senator Batters launched a petition for a review of Erin O'Toole
Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham since 2012. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Offici ...
as Conservative Party leader stating that, "Mr. O'Toole flip-flopped on policies core to our party within the same week, the same day, and even within the same sentence." On November 16, O'Toole ejected Batters from the national Conservative caucus (in which Conservative MPs and Senators both sit) for "discrediting" the work of the caucus and the leader. Batters released a statement on the expulsion saying that "Mr. O'Toole cannot 'tolerate' criticism."
Though expelled from the national Conservative caucus, which is made up of both MPs and Senators, she remains a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus. However, the Senate Conservatives have excluded her from appointment to Senate committees. In January 2022, the Saskatchewan Conservative Caucus confirmed Batters as a member of their regional caucus. In February 2022, after O'Toole's ouster as Conservative leader, Batters returned to the national caucus.
In Senate, she offered effusive praise for the " Freedom Convoy" protesters who locked down downtown Ottawa from January 29 to February 20. Batters said that the "chattering classes" had unfairly portrayed the protesters, classifying it as a "dance party." "I can say that in the last two years, I never felt safer walking home from my office at night."
Personal life
Denise Batters met her future husband, Dave Batters, in 1989, while they were crossing the street at a political convention. They married in 1997. Dave Batters served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for the federal Saskatchewan riding of Palliser from 2004 to 2008. After a battle with depression and anxiety, Dave died by suicide in 2009.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batters, Denise
1970 births
Canadian senators from Saskatchewan
Conservative Party of Canada senators
Women members of the Senate of Canada
Women in Saskatchewan politics
Living people
Politicians from Regina, Saskatchewan
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
University of Regina alumni
University of Saskatchewan alumni