Joseph A. Day (January 24, 1945 – May 27, 2024) was a Canadian politician. He was a

Canadian Senator The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they compose the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords, with its member ...

from October 4, 2001 until January 24, 2020, and was the leader of the

Senate Liberal Caucus The Senate Liberal Caucus (), also known as the Senate Liberals (), was, from 2014 to 2019, a parliamentary grouping in the Senate of Canada made up of independent senators who were individually members of the Liberal Party of Canada and were ap ...

from June 15, 2016, to November 14, 2019. He became the interim leader of the

Progressive Senate Group The Progressive Senate Group () is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. It was formed on November 14, 2019, out of the former Senate Liberal Caucus. It is currently led by Pierre Dalphond. History Background On January 29, 2014, a ...

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.

Education and early career

Day studied at College Militaire Royal Saint-Jean in 1963. He graduated from the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

in 1968 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree. He served in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

from 1963 to 1968 and held the rank of Lieutenant-colonel. He is an honorary member of the

, and served on its Board of Governors from 2004 to 2007. Day subsequently earned a

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from Queen's University and a Masters of Law from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

. 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. Day entered politics in 1978, when a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held in his native

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. Day returned from his practice of law in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, to contest the by-election as a candidate of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

, but was defeated in what had long been a Progressive Conservative stronghold. He faced the same electorate three times in two years due to the rapid succession of general elections that came in May 1979 and February 1980. In 1982, he ran for the leadership of the

New Brunswick Liberal Party The New Brunswick Liberal Association (), commonly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party, or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political party, political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended fro ...

, but was narrowly defeated on the final ballot by Doug Young. The leadership race was very divisive, and the Liberals went down to their worst defeat in recent history in the 1982 provincial election. Day, who sought election to the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

in a Saint John riding, was defeated in his fifth contest in five years. Day's wife,

Georgie Day Georgie Margaret Day (born May 2, 1947) is a nurse and former political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. She represented Kings Centre and then Hampton-Belleisle in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1991 to 1999 as a Liberal member. ...

, was elected to the legislature, on her first attempt in electoral politics, in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, and was re-elected in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. While in the legislature, she served in the

cabinets A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

of premiers

Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Chair of Brookfield Corporation and Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador ...

Ray Frenette Joseph Raymond Frenette (April 16, 1935 – July 13, 2018) was a Canadian politician in New Brunswick. He was a Liberal representative for the riding of Moncton East in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1974 until 1998 when he re ...

, and

Camille Thériault Camille Henri Thériault (born February 25, 1955) is a Canadian politician from New Brunswick. He served as the 29th premier of New Brunswick from 1998 to 1999. Early life The son of Joséphine Martin and Norbert Thériault, a former provinc ...

Senate

Day was appointed to the Senate of Canada from New Brunswick in 2001. He has been active on issues of

Veterans Affairs Canada Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC; ) is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for pensions, benefits and services for military veterans, former and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Pol ...

and media concentration. On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

announced all Liberal Senators, including Day, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. 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

facing losing official

parliamentary caucus A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political party, political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller politic ...

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

formed in its wake, with the entire membership joining the new group, including Day, who was announced as the interim leader of the new group. With Day's mandatory retirement in January 2020, on December 12, 2019, Nova Scotia senator

Jane Cordy Jane Marie Cordy (born July 2, 1950) is a former Canadian Senator who represented Nova Scotia from 2000 to 2024. Early life Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, she received a teaching certificate from the Nova Scotia Teachers College and a Bachelor of ...

tweeted that her colleagues in the Progressive Senate Group had selected her as the new leader, ostensibly effective that same date. Additionally, she subsequently announced later that day Senator

Terry Mercer Terry M. Mercer (born May 6, 1947) is a former Canadian Senator who represented Nova Scotia from 2003 to 2022. Career From 1974 to 1978, Mercer worked as Executive Assistant to Nova Scotia's Minister of Labour and Housing. Mercer then acted as ...

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. On the eve of his pending retirement from the Senate, Day tweeted, "On the eve of my retirement from the @SenateCA, I would like to share my farewell remarks. It has been an honour to serve my fellow New Brunswickers and all Canadians. Watch my speech here: ../nowiki> #SenCA #cdnpoli #nbpoli." He retired from the Senate on January 24, 2020, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. Day died on May 27, 2024. His funeral was held in Hampton.

References

External links

Liberal Senate Forum
*
Senator Joseph A. Day - Personal Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Joseph A. 1945 births 2024 deaths Canadian senators from New Brunswick Liberal Party of Canada senators Progressive Senate Group Senate Liberal Caucus Members of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Saint John, New Brunswick Royal Military College of Canada alumni Royal Military College Saint-Jean alumni 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada Canadian military personnel from New Brunswick

Education and early career

Senate

See also

References

External links