The following biographies of Stephen Harper's latest Senate appointments were written based on information from the Prime Minister's Office and our archives:
ONTARIO
Bob Runciman (pictured above) is a long-time Ontario MPP who represents the very right of the party. He was interim leader of the opposition provincial Tories and has held several cabinet positions, including Solicitor General and Public Safety. Mr. Runciman was previously a municipal councillor in Brockville. Before entering politics, he owned a weekly newspaper and commercial printing business and worked in production management in the chemical industry.
Vim Kochhar is president and founder of the Vimal Group of Companies, which is based in Toronto. For the past 30 years, Mr. Kochhar has been involved with the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons, an organization he created. He is also a board member of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. He was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 1974.
NEW BRUNSWICK
Rose-May Poirier is an opposition MLA and former Human Resources and Aboriginal Affairs minister. She is a former town councillor in Saint-Louis de Kent. Before she became a politician, she was an insurance representative and an executive VIP manager for Tupperware Canada.
QUEBEC
Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu is the founding president of the Murdered or Missing Persons' Families Association. He established the group after his 27-year-old daughter, Julie, was abducted, raped and murdered by a repeat offender in 2002. He has also worked in senior positions in the Quebec public service.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Elizabeth (Beth) Marshall is an MHA and a former health minister who resigned from cabinet and criticized Premier Danny Williams's leadership style. She was the first member of Mr. Williams's government to support Stephen Harper in his 2004 leadership bid. Mr. Harper has asked her to run for the Conservatives several times. The chartered accountant was auditor-general for 10 years and deputy minister of two departments.
(Photos: The Globe and Mail and The Canadian Press)