Meet Canada's 9 new senators

Prime Minister Justin Trudeauannounced the appointment of nine new independent senators Thursday, further bolstering the number of non-affiliated members in the upper chamber.

These appointments fill existing vacancies in B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick,Nova Scotiaand Prince Edward Island. There are still 12 empty seats six each for Ontario and Quebec and those are expected to be filled very soon.

The senators will be formally sworn-in at a later date.They only learned Wednesday evening that they had been picked to sit in the upper house.

• Trudeau to name 9 new non-partisan senators
• Coming to a TV near you: The Senate, if senators agree
• Senate considering outside oversight of expense claims
• 7 new senators sworn in, opposition jumps on their independence

After Thursday's announcement, the number of non-affiliated (or Independent) senators will rise to 32. There are 21 Liberals and 40 Conservatives. After the next round of appointments, Independents will make up the largest number of senators.

Here's a look at Canada's newest senators.

B.C.

Yuen Pau Woo

Malaysian-born Yuen Pau Woo is a former president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and currently senior fellow in public policy at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia.

Manitoba

Patricia Bovey

Manitoba art historian Patricia Bovey is anadjunct professor at the University of Winnipeg and aformer director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She also sat on theboard of trustees of the National Gallery of Canada and the board of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Marilou McPhedran

Lawyer and human rights activist Marilou McPhedran isco-leader of the Ad Hoc Committee of Canadian Women on the Constitution, a grassroots movement in the early 1980s that successfully campaigned for stronger equality rights provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

She is also currently a professor at the University of Winnipeg's Global College.

Harvey Chochinov

Winnipeg psychiatrist Harvey Chochinov is an internationally recognized expert in palliative care.

The previous Harper government appointed Chochinov to chair an external panel that consulted Canadians on possible legislative options following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling striking down the ban on medically-assisted dying.

His appointment to that panel was controversial because Chochinov had argued in court against legalizing assisted dying.

• Manitoban named to Senate looks forward to 'an extraordinary experience'

New Brunswick

Ren Cormier

New Brunswick francophone Ren Cormier ispresident of the Socit Nationale de l'Acadie, the lead organization for the international promotion of Acadian artists.

He was formerly president ofCommission internationale du thtre francophone, director of the Thtre populaire d'Acadie, president of the Fdration culturelle Canadienne-franaise and aboard member of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

Nancy Hartling

Nancy Hartling was executive director of Support to Single Parents Inc., an organization she founded34 years ago in Moncton, N.B. to offer resources, workshops and referrals for single parents and their children. Hartling announced in April the agency would close its doors with her retirement in June.

Nova Scotia

Wanda Thomas Bernard

Nova Scotia social worker and educator Wanda Thomas Bernard is the first African-Canadian to hold a tenure-track position and to be promoted to full professorat Dalhousie University in Halifax.

She is also a founding member of the Association of Black Social Workers and the current chair of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

"I was absolutely shocked to get a call from the prime minister's office," Bernard told CBC Nova Scotia."I know hundreds of people applied and so to have been selected amongst, I'm sure, (what) were a very qualified group of people it's very humbling. I also feel very grateful. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve our country."

Daniel Christmas

Daniel Christmas has served in various leadership positions in the Mi'kmaw Nation of Nova Scotia.

Christmas was recently appointed a member of the Premier's Council on the Economy. He is also a member of the Board of Directors with Nova Scotia Business Inc.

He is credited with playing a key role in transforming his home community from a First Nation on the brink of bankruptcy to one of the most successful in Canada. He is also the former director of advisory services for the Union of Nova Scotia Indians.

• Nova Scotia's Wanda Thomas Bernard, Daniel Christmas named senators

P.E.I.

Diane Griffin

Diane Griffin is theformer provincial deputy minister of environmental resources and a recipientof the Governor General's Conservation award. She is currently a councilor on Stratford, P.E.I.'stown council.

• Q&A with Diane Griffin on her Senate appointment
• Diane Griffin recommended for Senate