Canada's process doesn't bear comparison. I can't recall public controversy over an appointment. Didn't conservative PM Mulroney appoint a known liberal to the SC under the old system? From Wikipedia:

"Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada are appointed by the Governor General-in-Council, a process whereby the governor general, the viceregal representative of the Queen of Canada, makes appointments based on the advice of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. By tradition and convention, only the Cabinet, a standing committee in the larger council, advises the governor general and this advice is usually expressed exclusively through a consultation with the prime minister. Thus, the provinces and parliament have no formal role in such appointments, sometimes a point of contention.

"As of August, 2016 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened the process of application to change from the above noted appointment process. The new revised process "will permit any Canadian lawyer or judge who fits a specified criteria can apply for a seat on the Supreme Court, through the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs."

Our American friends may be surprised that our Liberal PM appointed a former conservative PM (now teaching at Harvard) as chair of the seven-member advisory board to make a short-list of nominees. The board is comprised of representatives of four legal societies and three prominent Canadians of whom two must not be of legals.

An appointment in Canada gets as much ink as a change of a sign in our village market.