Pana Pappas Merchant (born April 2, 1943) was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. She held the position since her appointment to the Senate by Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

in 2002 until her retirement in 2017. 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 Merchant, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. The Senators refer to themselves as 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 ...

even though they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. Pana Merchant was a longtime member of the Board of Directors of The Parliamentary Network, a founding and long term member of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, and a longtime member of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association. Senator Pana announced her resignation from the Senate on March 31, 2017, approximately a year ahead of her mandatory retirement date.

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Liberal Senate Forum
1943 births Living people Canadian senators from Saskatchewan Canadian people of Greek descent Liberal Party of Canada senators Women members of the Senate of Canada Women in Saskatchewan politics Greek emigrants to Canada 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub