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| leader5 = [[Raymonde Saint-Germain]]
| election5 = January 1, 2022
| leader6_type = Leader of the [[Canadian Senators Group|CSG]]
| leader6 = [[Scott Tannas]]
| election6 = November 4, 2019
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| members = 105
| structure1 = Senate of Canada - Seating Plan (44th Parliament).svg
| structure1_res =
| structure1_alt = Current Structure of the Senate
| political_groups1 = {{unbulleted list
|{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|ISG}}|[[Independent Senators Group]] (
|{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|
|{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|Progressive Senate Group}}|[[Progressive Senate Group]] (
|{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|
|{{nowrap|{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|
|{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|Vacant}}|Vacant (
}}
| voting_system1 = Appointment by the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]] on [[Advice (constitutional)|advice]] of the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]]
| last_election1 =
| session_room =
| house_type = Upper House
| session_res =
| session_alt = The Senate of Canada sits in the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa
| meeting_place = Senate Chamber<br>[[Senate of Canada Building]]<br>2 Rideau Street<br>[[Ottawa]], Ontario<br>Canada
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The Senate is modelled after the British [[House of Lords]] with members appointed by the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]] on the [[Advice (constitutional)|advice]] of the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]].<ref name="Franco">{{cite book |last1=Guida |first1=Franco |title=Canadian almanac & directory |date=2006 |isbn=1-895021-90-1 |pages=3–42 |edition=159th}}</ref> The appointment is made primarily by four divisions, each having twenty-four senators: the Maritime division, the Quebec division, the Ontario division, and the Western division. Newfoundland and Labrador is not part of any division, and has six senators. Each of the three territories has one senator, bringing the total to 105 senators. Senate appointments were originally for life; since 1965, they have been subject to a mandatory retirement age of 75.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Foot |first1=Richard |title=Senate of Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/senate |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica Canada |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref><ref name = SPaP>[https://sencanada.ca/media/93509/spip-psep-full-complet-e.pdf Senate of Canada: ''Senate Procedure and Practice'', June 2015, p. 9.]</ref>
The approval of both houses is necessary for legislation to become law, and thus the Senate can reject [[bill (proposed law)|bills]] passed by the House of Commons. Between 1867 and 1987, the Senate rejected fewer than two bills per year, but this has increased in more recent years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sencanada.ca/en/about/|title=About the Senate |date=January 25, 2019 |publisher=Senate of Canada|access-date=September 29, 2021}}</ref> Although legislation can normally be introduced in either chamber, the majority of government bills originate in the House of Commons, with the Senate acting as the chamber of "sober second thought" (as it was called by [[John A. Macdonald]], Canada's first prime minister).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/senate/faqjuniorversion/brochure-e.htm |year=2015 |title=FAQs about the Senate of Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=December 7, 2015}}</ref>
==History==
The Senate came into existence in 1867, when the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] passed the ''British North America Act 1867'' (now entitled the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]''), uniting the [[Province of Canada]] (as two separate provinces, [[Quebec]] and [[Ontario]]), [[Nova Scotia]] and [[New Brunswick]] into a single federal [[Dominion]]. The Canadian parliament was based on the [[Westminster system]] (that is, the model of the Parliament of the United Kingdom). Canada's first prime minister, Sir [[John A. Macdonald]], described the Senate as a body of "sober second thought" that would curb the "democratic excesses" of the elected House of Commons and provide regional representation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/senate/legisfocus/focus-e.htm |title=The Canadian Senate in Focus |publisher=Parl.gc.ca |access-date=July 1, 2010}}</ref> He believed that if the House of Commons properly represented the population, the upper chamber should represent the regions.<ref>{{Cite news|title = How to legitimize Canada's Senate|url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/how-to-legitimize-canadas-senate/article8979559/|access-date = August 19, 2015}}</ref> It was not meant to be more than a revising body or a brake on the House of Commons. Therefore, it was deliberately made an appointed house, since an elected Senate might prove too popular and too powerful and be able to block the will of the House of Commons.{{fact|date=November 2023}}
In 2008 the [[Canadian Heraldic Authority]] granted the Senate, as an institution, a [[coat of arms]] composed of a depiction of the chamber's mace (representing the monarch's authority in the upper chamber) behind the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] of the [[Arms of Canada]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1283&ProjectElementID=4485| last=Canadian Heraldic Authority| author-link=Canadian Heraldic Authority| title=Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada > Senate of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=August 8, 2010}}</ref>
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In the 1960s, discussion of reform appeared along with the [[Quiet Revolution]] and the rise of [[Western alienation]]. The first change to the Senate was in 1965, when a mandatory retirement age of 75 years was set. Appointments made before then were for life.<ref name = SPaP/>
In the 1970s, the emphasis was on increased provincial involvement in the senators' appointments.<ref name=stillborn/> Since the '70s, there have been at least 28 major proposals for constitutional Senate reform, and all have failed,<ref name="Joyal" /> including the 1987 [[Meech Lake Accord]], and the 1992 [[Charlottetown Accord]].
Starting in the 1980s, proposals were put forward to elect senators. After Parliament enacted the [[National Energy Program]] Western Canadians called for a [[Triple-E Senate|Triple-E]] (elected, equal, and effective) senate.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/senate-reform-canada |title=Senate Reform in Canada |author=Makarenko, Jay |date=October 1, 2006 |access-date=November 24, 2008 |publisher=MapleLeafWeb}}</ref> In 1982 the Senate was given a qualified veto over certain constitutional amendments.<ref name=Joyal>{{Cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/protectingcanadi0000unse| title=Protecting Canadian Democracy: The Senate You Never Knew| last=Joyal| first=Serge| publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]]| date=July 2003| isbn=978-0-7735-2619-8| df=mdy-all| url-access=registration}}</ref> In 1987 Alberta legislated for the [[Alberta Senate nominee elections]]. Results of the [[1989 Alberta Senate nominee election]] were non-binding.
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Following the [[Canadian Senate expenses scandal]] Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] declared a moratorium on further appointments. Harper had advocated for an elected Senate for decades, but his proposals were blocked by a 2014 [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court ruling]]<ref name="macfarlane">{{cite web |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Emmett |title=Did the Supreme Court just kill Senate reform? - Macleans.ca |url=https://www.macleans.ca/politics/did-the-supreme-court-just-kill-senate-reform/ |website=Maclean's |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> that requires a constitutional amendment approved by a minimum of seven provinces, whose populations together accounted for at least half of the national population.<ref name="fekete">{{cite web |last1=Fekete |first1=Jason |title=How to solve a problem like the Senate |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/how-to-solve-a-problem-like-the-senate |website=Ottawa Citizen |access-date=3 February 2020 |language=en |date=19 June 2015}}</ref>
In 2014, Liberal leader [[Justin Trudeau]] expelled all senators from the Liberal caucus and, as prime minister in 2016, created the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointment,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-advisory-board-non-partisan-leblanc-monsef-1.3348531|title=Liberal plan to pick 'non-partisan' senators draws quick criticism|last=Harris|first=Kathleen|date=December 3, 2015 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> both of which were attempts to make the Senate less partisan without requiring constitutional change.<ref name="macfarlane"/> Members of the board include members from each jurisdiction where there is a vacancy.<ref name="members">{{cite web |last1=Office |first1=Privy Council |title=Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments: Mandate and members |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/campaign/independent-advisory-board-for-senate-appointments/members.html |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=3 February 2020 |date=7 July 2016}}</ref> The board provides a short list of recommended candidates to the Prime Minister, who is not bound to accept them.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 19, 2016 |author=The Canadian Press |work=CTV News |title=Two Manitoba MPs appointed to senate advisory committee |url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/two-manitoba-mps-appointed-to-senate-advisory-committee-1.2743690}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-senate-advisory-board-1.3410090 |title=Senate advisory board named, 1st appointments expected within weeks |last=Tasker |first=John Paul |date=January 19, 2016 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=January 19, 2016}}</ref> Some provinces refused to participate, stating that it would make the situation worse by lending the Senate some legitimacy.<ref name="christyclark">{{cite web |title=Christy Clark says Trudeau legitimizing unaccountable Senate, B.C. under-representation |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/clark-trudeau-senate-reform-1.3353128 |website=CBC |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> Since this new appointments process was launched in 2016, 66 new senators, all selected under this procedure, were appointed to fill vacancies. All Canadians may now apply directly for a Senate appointment at any time, or nominate someone they believe meets the merit criteria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chantal Peticlerc, Murray Sinclair among 7 new Trudeau-appointed senators|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-appointments-1.3496977|access-date=March 18, 2016|publisher=CBC News|date=March 18, 2016}}</ref>
==Chamber and offices==
[[File:Government Conference Centre Ottawa.jpg|thumb|left|Temporary Senate Building|alt=Temporary Senate
The original Senate chamber was lost to the fire that consumed the Parliament Buildings in 1916. The Senate then sat in the mineral room of what is today the [[Canadian Museum of Nature]] until 1922, when it relocated to [[Parliament Hill]]. With the Centre Block undergoing renovations, temporary chambers have been constructed in the [[Senate of Canada Building]], where the Senate began meeting in 2019.<ref name=building>{{cite web |last1=Canada |first1=Senate of |title=The Senate of Canada Building |url=https://sencanada.ca/en/about/scb |website=Senate of Canada |access-date=2 February 2020 |language=en |date=8 February 2019}}</ref>
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|0.3%
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2"|Total/
|105
|352,305
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====Parliamentary groups====
While for much of the Senate's history, most senators were affiliated with the same federal political parties that seek seats in elections to the House of Commons, this has changed in the 21st century and the large majority of current senators have no formal partisan affiliations. From 1867 to 2015, prime ministers normally chose members of their own parties to be senators, though they sometimes nominated non-affiliated senators or members of opposing parties. Since November 4, 2015, all newly
Senators are organized into one of four recognized [[parliamentary group]]s (or 'caucuses'), or are described as "[[independent (politics)|non-affiliated]]" if they are members of none. Three of the parliamentary groups have weak to nonexistent patterns of [[party discipline]] and in lieu of a [[Whip (politics)|whip]] designate an individual to serve as a 'liaison'; they have accordingly been compared to [[technical group]]s or [[crossbenchers]] in other jurisdictions. By contrast, the Conservative group remains affiliated with the [[Conservative Party of Canada|federal party]] with its members attending caucus meetings with its members of the House of Commons; they follow the party whip as a condition of continued affiliation.
[[File:Senate of Canada - Seating Plan By Province.svg|thumb|Canadian Senate seat count in each
{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable col3right"
! colspan="2" | Caucus
! Senators<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senators |url=https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Senate of Canada |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|ISG|background}} |
| [[Independent Senators Group]]
| 39
|-▼
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative|background}} | ▼
| [[Conservative Party of Canada#Senate Caucus|Conservative]]▼
| 15▼
|-
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Canadian Senators Group|background}} |
| [[Canadian Senators Group]]
|
|-
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Progressive Senate Group|background}} |
| [[Progressive Senate Group]]
|
▲|-
▲| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative|background}} |
▲| [[Conservative Party of Canada#Senate Caucus|Conservative]]
|-
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Independent|background}} |
| [[Independent (politician)|Non-affiliated]]{{efn|name=NA|The non-affiliated senators include the Speaker of the Senate and the three members of the Government Representative Office.<ref name="senatorslist">{{cite web |url=https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/ |title=Senators |date=April 11, 2016 |publisher=Senate of Canada |access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref><ref name=gro>{{cite web |url=https://senate-gro.ca/about/ |title=About the Government Representative Office (GRO) |publisher=Government Representative Office |access-date=28 July 2020 |quote=Although the three senators represent the Government to the Senate, they do not sit in a partisan caucus and do not lead a caucus.}}</ref>}}
|
|-
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|vacant|background}} |
| Vacant
|
|-
| colspan="2"| '''Total'''
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====Gender====
A majority of sitting senators are women. {{As of|2023|
The Senate has generally had a higher level of female representation than the House of Commons throughout history.<ref name="hillnotes-women">{{cite web|url=https://hillnotes.ca/2021/12/01/women-in-the-parliament-of-canada-100-years-of-representation/|title=Women in the Parliament of Canada: 100 Years of Representation |date=December 2021 |publisher=Library of Parliament}}</ref> The number of female senators equalled males for the first time ever on November 11, 2020,{{efn|name=GenderParity|Following the mandatory retirement of [[Norman Doyle]], there were 47 male and 47 female senators.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/the-canadian-senate-briefly-reached-gender-parity-heres-why-it-matters-153525 |title=The Canadian Senate briefly reached gender parity — here's why it matters|date=March 3, 2021 }}</ref>}} and surpassed males for the first time on October 2, 2022.{{efn|name=MoreWomen|Following the resignation of [[Vernon White (politician)|Vernon White]], there were 45 female and 44 male senators.}}
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A series of additional appointments were announced for October and November 2016 that would fill all vacancies. Once these senators were summoned, the independent non-aligned senators became more numerous than either of the party caucuses for the first time in the Senate's history. The independent senator group also grew to include over half the total number of senators.
On December 12, 2018, the four remaining vacancies were filled in Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Ontario. With these appointments, the Senate had a full complement of senators for the first time in over eight years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-names-four-more-senators-1.4942729 |title=Trudeau names four new senators – including a failed Liberal candidate |publisher=CBC News|date=December 12, 2018|last=Tasker |first=John Paul }}</ref> Since December 2018, additional senators have retired, resigned or died so the Senate currently has fewer than 105 members again, with
==Officers==
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The presiding officer of the Senate is the [[Speaker of the Senate of Canada|speaker]], who is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sencanada.ca/en/about/procedural-references/notes/n9 |year=2017 |title=The Speaker of the Senate: Role and Appointment |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=March 9, 2018}}</ref> The speaker is assisted by a speaker ''pro tempore'' ("Current Speaker"), who is elected by the Senate at the beginning of each parliamentary session. If the Speaker is unable to attend, the speaker ''pro tempore'' presides instead. Furthermore, the ''[[Parliament of Canada Act]]'' authorizes the speaker to appoint another senator to temporarily serve. [[Muriel McQueen Fergusson]] was the Parliament of Canada's first female speaker, holding the office from 1972 to 1974.<ref name="senfocus" />{{Failed verification|date=October 2018}}
The speaker presides over sittings of the Senate and controls debates by calling on members to speak. Senators may raise a point of order if a rule (or standing order) has been breached, on which the speaker makes a ruling. However, the speaker's decisions are subject to appeal to the whole Senate. When presiding, the speaker remains impartial, while maintaining membership in a political party. Unlike the [[Speaker of the House of Commons
The senator responsible for steering legislation through the Senate is the [[representative of the Government in the Senate]], who is a senator selected by the prime minister and whose role is to introduce legislation on behalf of the government. The position was created in 2016 to replace the former position of leader of the Government in the Senate. The [[Official Opposition|opposition]] equivalent is the [[Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)|leader of the Opposition in the Senate]] is selected by the [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|leader of the Official Opposition]]. However, if the Official Opposition in the Commons is a different party than the Official Opposition in the Senate (as was the case from 2011 to 2015), then the Senate party chooses its own leader.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Officers of the Senate who are not members include the clerk, the deputy clerk, the law clerk, and several other clerks. These officers advise the speaker and members on the rules and procedure of the Senate. Another officer is the [[Usher of the Black Rod
==Committees==
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{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book| last = Smith| first = David E.| title = The Canadian Senate in Bicameral Perspective | publisher = [[University of Toronto Press]] | year = 2003| isbn = 9780802087881}}
* [https://data.ipu.org/parliament/ca?chamber_id=13360 About parliament – Senate], Inter-Parliamentary Union
{{refend}}
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