The Senate is the Upper House in Canada’s bicameral parliamentary democracy. It unites a diverse group of accomplished Canadians in service of their country. Parliament’s 105 senators shape Canada’s future. Senators scrutinize legislation, suggest improvements and fix mistakes. When the Senate speaks, the House of Commons listens — a bill must pass the Senate before it can become law. Senators also propose their own bills and generate debate about issues of national importance in the collegial environment of the Senate Chamber, where ideas are debated on their merit. Created to counterbalance representation by population in the House of Commons, the Senate has evolved from defending regional interests to giving voice to underrepresented groups like Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women.
The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords, with its members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.[2] 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.
Although the Senate is the upper house of parliament and the House of Commons is the lower house, this does not imply the former is more powerful than the latter. It merely entails that its members and officers outrank the members and officers of the Commons in the order of precedence for the purposes of protocol. As a matter of practice and custom, the opposite is true, with the House of Commons being the dominant chamber. The prime minister and Cabinet are responsible solely to the House of Commons and remain in office only so long as they retain the confidence of that chamber. Parliament is composed of the two houses together with the “Crown-in-Parliament” (i.e. the monarch, represented by the governor general as viceroy).
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