Dawn Arnold is excited about her move to the Senate.

Arnold applied in August 2024, and after several months of security checks and in-depth interviews, she got a call from the prime minister.

“I think it was late February, I got a call from the Prime Minister asking me if I would serve Canadians in this way. And of course, then you have to keep it so secret, which was really, really, really hard. Then the announcement was made on Friday.”

She says over the last 13 years on Moncton City Council, four as a Councillor-at-Large and the last almost nine as Mayor, she has seen where systems are breaking down and where comprehensive change needs to be made to make Canadians’ lives better.

“I felt I could take what I’ve learned over the last few years and apply it in a more national context. Housing, from a national perspective, is very, very important. I think for Monctonians, I think what they can expect from me is a commitment to collaboration, to sustainability, making sure that we’re building a sustainable world, and a commitment to bilingualism,” Arnold says.

She adds that south of the border right now, there are indications of what happens when the government isn’t thoughtful about making major changes in a country.

As for where Arnold will live in her role as Senator, she says you are mandated to stay in your city, and it’s a big part of being a Senator and proving that you own land in New Brunswick. But she says there will be a lot of travel back and forth to Ottawa.

After spending her many years around the Moncton City Council horseshoe, our newsroom asked what Senate meetings will be like, “My understanding, anecdotally, is that it’s much more congenial in the Senate. So I like that. I like working collaboratively. I like to find how we can each find what we need to come up with win-win solutions. Always, there’s compromise, but you know, not making it so personal. I look forward to that,” Arnold emphasized.