Ian Shugart was appointed to the Senate in September 2022 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after a career in government spanning over 40 years.
Ian Shugart obituary
Shugart, appointed to the Senate in 2022, had been battling cancer since 2021. Ian Shugart, an Ontario senator and former top public servant, has died at the age of 66, Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagné confirmed on Wednesday.
Shugart was appointed to the Senate in September 2022 on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, following a career in the public service that spanned more than 40 years under both Liberal and Conservative governments.
“His contributions were priceless,” Trudeau said in French in the House of Commons on Wednesday. He also served as a deputy minister for environment, foreign affairs, and employment and social development, meaning he was the top public servant in those departments.
Earlier in his career, Shugart was a political staffer with the Progressive Conservatives, including when Brian Mulroney was prime minister and, before that, when Joe Clark was the official Opposition leader.