Lesson 1 — Activity 3: The Senate

Warm Up

The upper house in Canada’s Parliament is called the Senate. The main role of the Senate is to review the work done by the House of Commons. It does this by looking very closely at every bill that is passed by the House of Commons.

The Senate

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The number of representatives in the House of Commons is based on population and area. If all decisions were made based on the number of representatives in the House of Commons, Ontario and Québec alone could dominate Canada’s Parliament because of their large populations.

The idea behind the Senate is to try to make the system more fair by basing the number of senators on equal representation. Therefore, each region is assigned the same number of seats in order to guarantee them an equal voice in the Senate. Seats were added as new provinces and territories entered confederation.

Canada's Senate has 105 politicians, known as senators. The seats in the senate are distributed as follows:

The Maritimes Division — 24 (New Brunswick — 10, Nova Scotia — 10, Prince Edward Island — 4)

The Ontario Division — 24

The Quebec Division — 24

The Western Division — 24 (British Columbia — 6, Alberta — 6, Saskatchewan — 6, Manitoba — 6)

Additional representation — 9 (Newfoundland and Labrador — 6, Northwest Territories — 1, Yukon Territory — 1, Nunavut — 1)

Total: 105 seats

Senators are not elected to their positions. They are appointed, and they hold their seats until they either resign or turn 75. The prime minister presents names of potential Senators to the governor general who then appoints them in the queen’s name. Usually, these people have done great service to Canada.

The Senate consists of 105 members who represent regions, provinces, and territories. They are people of various backgrounds, such as business people, lawyers, teachers, artists, doctors, athletes, police officers, Aboriginal leaders, former politicians, and many others.

To become a senator, one must meet several requirements, such as:

be a Canadian citizen

be at least 30 years old

own property in their province or territory

live in the province or territory that they will represent as a senator

The reality is that the prime minister tends to present names of people who support the party that is in power. One can argue that this is favouritism, but over the years, as the various parties are in power, it tends to balance out. Another criticism of the Senate is that its members are not elected. It is based on the British House of Lords, but some believe that all members of Canada’s government should be elected.

So what does the senate do?

The senate:

can allow or deny bills that have been passed by the House of Commons

can focus on and protect the rights and interests of Canadians, especially minority groups or people who do not often have their opinions heard

may also introduce bills of its own, although most bills are introduced in the House of Commons

Senators review the bills that come before them, and if they believe a bill is unsuitable, they can send it back to the House of Commons to be changed before they pass it. The laws, changes, or policies in these defeated bills cannot be put into action. Sometimes, bills do not make it through this process. No bill can become law in Canada without Senate approval. When a bill is passed, it is then presented to the governor general for royal assent and becomes law.

Click on the Play button below to look closer at the inside of the Senate in Canada.

The legislative process: How a bill becomes law

A bill is a proposed law that is introduced in either the House of Commons or the Senate. Most bills are introduced in the House of Commons. Bills can amend or cancel existing law or can contain completely new law.

There are two kinds of bills: public and private. Public bills relate to public policy and may be sponsored by a minister (government bill) or by a private member (member's bill). Private bills benefit a particular individual or group.

What stages must a bill pass in order to become law?

In the First House:

The first House can be either the House of Commons or the Senate and is always the house in which the bill was introduced. If the first house is the House of Commons then the second house is the Senate and vice versa. A bill must pass through all the following stages, regardless of the house in which it was introduced, in order to become law.

1st Reading: This is where the bill is introduced to the house.

2nd Reading: The main purpose of the bill is debated. If passed, the bill is then referred to a committee for further study.

Committee Stage: Committee members study the bill clause by clause. The committee may make amendments (changes).

Report Stage: The committee presents its report, which may recommend that the bill be accepted in its 1st reading state, or with amendments, or that it not be proceeded with further. During the report stage debate, members can propose further changes to the bill.

3rd Reading: The house reviews the bill in its final form. The 3rd reading copy includes any amendments made to the bill thus far.

Senate: In the second house: Once a bill has passed the third reading stage in the first house, the bill goes to the second house where it must pass through the same stages. The Senate may amend, delay, or refuse to pass bills, although traditionally the Senate passes most bills. Any amendments made by the second House however, must be agreed to by the first House or the bill does not become law.

Royal Assent: Royal assent completes the process. Bills may be given royal assent in two ways: by the governor general or his or her deputy in a formal ceremony that takes place in the Senate before an assembly of both houses or by written declaration. When a bill receives royal assent, it is given a chapter number for the Statutes of Canada.

What happens if a bill is not passed?

Not all bills become law. A bill "dies on the order paper" if it does not pass through all of the stages described above during a session of Parliament. A bill that has died on the order paper can, however, be reintroduced as a new bill, with a new bill number, in the next session of Parliament.

Try This!

Click here to follow the steps of how a bill becomes a law in Canada. Click on the Play icon to begin, then click on each of the numbers (1 to 18) to read about each of the stages.

Click on the Play button below to watch a video called "The Senate of Canada: Tradition and Ceremony" to review what you have just learned about the Senate.