Dennis Patterson

Preceded byNick SibbestonSucceeded byNellie CournoyeaCanadian Senator
from NunavutIn office
August 27, 2009 – December 29, 2023Nominated byStephen HarperAppointed byMichaëlle JeanPreceded byWillie AdamsSucceeded byTBDMember of the
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
for Frobisher Bay
(Iqaluit; 1983–1995)In office
October 1, 1979 – October 16, 1995Preceded byRiding establishedSucceeded byEd Picco Personal detailsBorn
(1948-12-30) December 30, 1948 (age 75)
Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaPolitical partyCanadian Senators GroupOther political
affiliationsConservative (2009–2022)OccupationLawyerProfessionPolitician

Dennis Glen Patterson (born December 30, 1948) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who was senator from Nunavut from 2009 until his retirement in 2023. He was the fifth premier of the Northwest Territories from 1987 to 1991. Patterson played a key role in the settlement of the Inuvialuit final agreement and the Nunavut final land claim agreement. Patterson was named to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, sitting as a Conservative until 2022, when he joined the Canadian Senators Group (CSG).

Career

He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories (MLA) for Frobisher Bay and Iqaluit from 1978 to 1995, as minister of education, justice and municipal affairs, and was chosen as the fifth premier of Northwest Territories in 1987, serving to 1991. He headed the campaign that led to the creation of Nunavut in 1999.^[1]

Patterson has served as a director of the Northwest Territories Law Foundation and as chair of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Legal Services Board until 2000. He became a private consultant in 2001.^[2]

Patterson was named to the Senate of Canada by Stephen Harper on August 27, 2009.^[3] He represented Nunavut as a Conservative until February 4, 2022, when he announced he would be leaving the Conservative Senators Group to join the Canadian Senators Group in protest over other Conservative members support of the "Freedom Convoy" protests.^[4] Patterson retired from the Senate of Canada on December 29, 2023.^[5]

References

External links

• Dennis Patterson – Parliament of Canada biography
• Official site Archived 9 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine