Mike Duffy: Journalist and Senator

Last reviewed: November 2026

Mike Duffy is a Canadian broadcaster who became a senator in 2008. On June 30, 2009, Maclean's published a post titled "More on Mike Duffy? Why not" that linked to this Cambridge Now page. The link sits on the words "a gig", in a sentence about the roles Duffy held as a senator. This page covers his documented career and what the 2009 post was about.

Quick facts

Broadcasting career

According to Wikipedia, Duffy began as a teenage disc jockey at CFCY-TV in Charlottetown and later worked in print and radio. He joined CFRA in Ottawa as a political reporter in 1971 and moved to CBC Radio's Parliament Hill bureau in 1974. By 1977 he was reporting for The National. In 1988 he joined Baton Broadcasting as the first host of Sunday Edition, and after 1999 he hosted programs on CTV Newsnet, including Countdown with Mike Duffy and Mike Duffy Live.

He won an ACTRA Award in 1986 and was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1994.

Appointment to the Senate

Duffy was named to the Senate as a Prince Edward Island representative on December 22, 2008, sitting as a Conservative, and retired from television at the end of that year. He was introduced to the Senate on January 26, 2009, just before the Speech from the Throne.

The Maclean's post of June 2009

The post is a short political commentary. It says Duffy had said he did not want to be appointed as a Conservative and would sit as an independent, then lists what the Senate gave him: an office, a travel budget, a salary, a pension and a "gig" as a promoter of the government. It argues that he behaved in a partisan way, citing an account of a talk he gave to members of the Fraser Institute in which he defended Prime Minister Stephen Harper's communication style and said the government had been right to shut down 40-year mortgages. The post gives no figures for Duffy's pay or travel budget.

Expenses controversy

Wikipedia reports that in 2012 Duffy was accused by media and the Senate of improperly claiming primary residence outside Ottawa to obtain living expenses. On February 28, 2013, the Senate Committee on Internal Economy announced audits of four senators, Duffy among them. Duffy repaid $90,172 to the Government of Canada in March 2013; the funds came by cheque from Nigel Wright, Harper's chief of staff, under an arrangement with the Prime Minister's Office.

He left the Conservative caucus on May 16, 2013. The Senate voted to suspend him on November 5, 2013. The RCMP charged him with 31 offences on July 17, 2014. He was acquitted of all charges on April 21, 2016, by Justice Charles Vaillancourt of the Ontario Superior Court, who found he had not falsely claimed expenses. Duffy then resumed his seat.

After the trial

In August 2017 Duffy sued the Senate and the RCMP for $8 million. The Ontario Superior Court dismissed the claim against the Senate in December 2018. His appeals failed, and the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his appeal in February 2021.

Frequently asked questions

When did Mike Duffy become a senator? He was named on December 22, 2008, and introduced on January 26, 2009.

Was he convicted of any offence? No. He was acquitted of all 31 charges on April 21, 2016.

Who repaid the $90,172? Duffy repaid it to the government in March 2013, using money Nigel Wright provided. The repayment was not an admission of wrongdoing in court: he was later acquitted of all charges on April 21, 2016.

When did he leave the Senate? He retired on May 27, 2021, when he turned 75.

What did the Maclean's post say about his travel and salary? It mentioned them only in passing, as part of what a senator receives, and gave no figures.

Sources

Wikipedia's article on Mike Duffy.