Canadian Senate

The Senate (French: Sénat) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, which also includes the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the House of Commons. The Senate is an appointed body, consisting of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Senate seats are divided among the provinces in such a way that Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and the Western provinces are equally represented. The number of seats for Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut are assigned apart from these regional divisions. Senators serve until they reach the age of seventy-five.

History

The Senate came into existence in 1867, when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the British North America Act, uniting the Province of Canada (which was separated into Canada East and Canada West, corresponding, respectively, to what are now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario) and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a single federation, called the Dominion of Canada. The Canadian Parliament was based on the Westminster model (that is, the model of the Parliament of the United Kingdom). The Senate was intended to mirror the British House of Lords, in that it was meant to represent the social and economic élite. Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, described it as a body of "sober second thought" that would curb the "democratic excesses" of the elected House of Commons. The Senate was also originally intended to provide regional representation.

Related Topics:
1867 - Parliament of the United Kingdom - British North America Act - Province of Canada - Canada East - Canada West - Quebec - Ontario - Nova Scotia - New Brunswick - Westminster model - House of Lords - Prime Minister - Sir John A. Macdonald

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The body, however, quickly turned into a mere source for political patronage in the eyes of many Canadians. It soon became a body that merely "rubber-stamped" legislation passed by the House of Commons; very rarely did the Senate seek to challenge the will of the House of Commons. Plans for reform, however, chiefly involved amending the appointment process; plans to create an elected Senate did not gain widespread support until the 1980s, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau enacted the National Energy Program in the wake of the energy crises of the 1970s. Despite widespread opposition in Western Canada, Trudeau easily secured the Senate's support, as most senators had been appointed by previous Prime Ministers from Trudeau's Liberal Party. Many Western Canadians then called for a "Triple-E Senate," standing for "elected," "equal," and "effective." They believed that allowing equal representation of the provinces would protect the interests of the smaller provinces, and would end the domination of Ontario and Quebec.

Related Topics:
Patronage - 1980s - Pierre Trudeau - National Energy Program - 1970s - Liberal Party - Triple-E Senate

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The Meech Lake Accord, a series of constitutional amendments proposed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, would have required the federal government to choose a senator from a list of persons nominated by the provincial government; the accord, however, failed to obtain the requisite unanimous consent of the provincial legislatures. A successor proposal, the Charlottetown Accord, involved a provision under which the Senate would include an equal number of senators from each province, elected either by the provincial legislatures or by the people. This accord was soundly defeated in the referendum held in 1992. Further proposals for Senate reform have not met with success, either, especially due to opposition in Ontario and Quebec, the two provinces with the most to lose due to equal representation.

Related Topics:
Meech Lake Accord - Constitution - Amendment - Brian Mulroney - Federal - Government - Charlottetown Accord - 1992

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Today, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois both call for the Senate's abolition. The Liberal and Conservative parties generally call for the status quo or more moderate reform; the Conservative Party has moved back from its predecessor Reform Party's strong advocacy of Triple-E, but individual Conservatives may tend to favour stronger reforms than individual Liberals.

Related Topics:
New Democratic Party - Bloc Québécois - Liberal - Conservative - Reform Party's

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