Article content

OTTAWA – A Conservative senator from Ontario who owns two CFL teams, the Lions and the Argonauts, has retired early from the upper chamber.

David Braley provided no reason for his departure, which was effective Nov. 30. The 72-year-old wasn’t scheduled to retire until 2016.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Conservative Senator David Braley retires early; had told local newspaper scandal was tainting red chamber Back to video

Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Braley to the Senate in 2010, giving a patronage appointment to a top Conservative donor and backer.

But Braley was apparently fed up with the Senate scandal, telling his local newspaper in September it had tainted anyone who sits in the red chamber.

A longtime businessman from Hamilton, Ont., Braley told the Hamilton Community News that his wife had asked him to consider retiring early. He also said in the interview that the actions of senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin, as well as of former Liberal senator Mac Harb, had made him rethink his place in the upper chamber.