Canada’s Senate: The Need for Reform

Abstract

This paper explores the desire for Canadian Senate reform, and it offers recommendations for the best way to create a Senate that is elected, effective, and equal. Over the past few decades, the Canadian Senate has become more symbolic than results driven. As well, since the Senate is appointed, its democratic legitimacy is questionable. In addition, the current form of the Senate maintains and contributes to the growing executive dominance in Canada. A reform of the Canadian Senate could contribute to solving these concerns. The reoccurring proposal for a Triple-E Senate, however, has many flaws, which are examined in-depth in the following paper. An ineffective Senate ultimately leads to a lack of representation of citizen’s interests across Canada, making it necessary to consider reform to protect the democracy of Canadian citizens. The following paper will provide further insight into the concerns that the current form of the Senate contributes to, such as the minimally checked powers of the Prime Minister, and the control that the Prime Minister maintains over political parties. Alternative methods of reform will also be suggested other than a Triple-E Senate.