Noël Kinsella

Kinsella was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from University College in Dublin, Ireland. He is also an alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum in Rome from which he earned a Ph.L. and then a Ph.D. in 1965 with a dissertation entitled Toward a theory of personality development : a study of the works of Erik H. Erikson. Furthermore, he received an S.T.L. and an S.T.D. degree from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He was a Professor for 41 years at St. Thomas University and is currently a member of the Board of Governors. He also served as Chair of the Atlantic Human Rights Centre.

Kinsella was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the recommendation of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on September 12, 1990, as a Senator for New Brunswick. He sat as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus until 2004 when he joined most of the Tory caucus in becoming a Conservative Senator.

Kinsella was Opposition Whip (1994–1999) and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (1999 – October 1, 2004) when he became Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. On February 8, 2006, he was named Speaker of the Senate by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Kinsella speaks French, and uses it in parliament. He resigned as Speaker on November 26, 2014, in anticipation of his mandatory retirement from the Senate, upon reaching the age of 75, two days later.[1]

Kinsella is considered a Red Tory and supported Peter MacKay in his bid to become leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2003.

Kinsella is an honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy since December 2008.[2]

He is also a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.[3][4]

He was sworn in as a Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on February 23, 2015. This gives him the right to the honorific prefix "The Honourable" and the post-nominal letters "PC" for life.

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of St. John (K.stJ)	2010 Knight of Justice
	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal	1977 Canadian Version of this Medal
	125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal	1992
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 Canadian Version of this Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012 Canadian Version of this Medal
	Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)	January 2021 12 Years Service in the Royal Canadian Navy

Honorary degrees

Honorary degrees

Location	Date	School	Degree	Gave Commencement Address
Republic of Ireland	30 August 2011	University College Dublin	Doctor of Literature (D.Litt) [5][6]	Yes

Coat of arms of Noël Kinsella

Crest Issuant from a circlet of fleurs-de-lis, fiddleheads and shamrocks Vert, a dove close proper holding in its beak a flame Gules; Escutcheon Argent on a fess between in chief two suns in splendour Gules and in base a lion passant Sable, the Mace of the Senate of Canada Or; Supporters Two white-tailed deer proper each charged on the shoulder with a pomme bearing an open book Argent and standing on a bed of maple leaves Gules; Motto LUCERNA PEDIBUS MEIS VERBUM TUUM (Your Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet)[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Noël Kinsella.

• Noël Kinsella – Parliament of Canada biography
• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, The Speaker of the Senate, Biography