In 1981, Stollery was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the recommendation of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau wanted to open Stollery's Spadina riding so his aide James Coutts could be elected to Parliament in a by-election. The voters rebelled, and in the subsequent by-election Coutts was defeated in what had been a safe Liberal seat by Dan Heap of the New Democratic Party. He retired from the Senate on November 29, 2010 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, at which point he had served in Parliament for over 38 years, including more than 29 years in the Senate.