Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to assign a final list of senators to occupy the vacant seats in the upper house before he steps down from office, as confirmed by his office to Global News on Monday.

The Parliament is currently in a state of prorogation until March 24 as the Liberals are in the process of selecting a new leader to replace Trudeau. This means that the Senate and the House of Commons are currently inactive, and legislative affairs are suspended. However, this does not hinder the appointment of new senators. The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that the selection process is already in progress.

The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments will provide the Prime Minister with a non-binding shortlist of candidates for each vacant seat. Trudeau is committed to fulfilling his responsibility of appointing senators for as long as he remains in office.

The new set of senators appointed by Trudeau will further enhance his influence on the Senate. At present, out of the 97 senators in the 105-seat chamber, all but 21 were appointed by Trudeau. A mere 12 senators are affiliated with the Conservative Party. The number of vacant seats is expected to increase to 10 by February due to retirements.

Trudeau’s tenure as Prime Minister since 2015 has seen him appointing several Liberal donors, organizers and former MPs to the Senate, including former party candidates. Most of Trudeau’s appointees sit in Senate caucuses that identify as independent, but have historically voted in favor of his legislative priorities, often with proposed changes.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused Trudeau of attempting to “stack the Senate with his personal friends and Liberal insiders” before his departure. He insisted that no new appointments should be made until the country’s next general election.

The Liberals are scheduled to elect a new leader on March 9, and the victor of the leadership race will automatically become the Prime Minister. However, opposition parties have vowed to introduce non-confidence motions as soon as Parliament reconvenes on March 24, increasing the likelihood of a spring election. Currently, the Conservatives are leading in the polls and could potentially form the government in the next election.

A Senate dominated by Trudeau-appointed members could pose additional scrutiny and potential delays for a Conservative government’s legislative agenda. Sen. Don Plett, the Conservative opposition leader in the upper house, urged Liberal leadership candidates to oppose Trudeau’s appointment plans. He argued that Trudeau has lost the legitimacy to appoint Senators since announcing his resignation, and doing so now would be an act of desperation.