Canada’s Senate: A glimpse at the operations of the upper chamber

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney made his first appointments to the Senate on Tuesday, naming four new senators to the upper chamber. They include Carney’s principal secretary Tom Pitfield and Conservative MP Richard Martel, who will both fill seats from Quebec.

He also announced he is dropping the non-partisan criteria for appointments to the upper chamber, and plans to rejig the independent appointments advisory committee established by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Those were just some of the changes Trudeau made to the Senate, which had been dogged by accusations of cronyism and spending scandals.

Here’s a look at the role the Senate plays, and how the Senate has changed in the last 10 years.

How many Senators are there and which parties do they represent?

There are 105 seats in the Senate — 24 each from Ontario and Quebec, six each from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador, 10 each from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, four from Prince Edward Island, and one from each of the three territories.

There are currently 97 senators in the upper chamber, and eight vacancies — though two of those vacancies will be filled when Pitfield and Martel are sworn in. Geeta Tucker, from Manitoba, and Rodney Ouellette, from New Brunswick, are already listed as senators, following their appointments this week.

However the Senate is no longer divided by political party as is the House of Commons.

The 12 Conservative members are the only Senate group directly linked to a political party, with the others either unaligned or a member of various groups that include the Government Representative’s Office, the Independent Senators Group, the Canadian Senators Group and the Progressive Senate Group.

Currently the independent group has the largest number, at 40, followed by the Canadian group, at 18.

In 2016, there were 41 Senators in the Conservative caucus.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said earlier this year that Carney should appoint more Conservatives to the upper chamber.

What do Senators do?

When Parliament is sitting, Senators come to Ottawa to debate and vote on bills. In addition to proposing new laws, they often receive bills from the House of Commons and debate potential changes. To become Canadian federal law, a bill must be approved by both houses of Parliament.

Senators also work together to debate issues in committee meetings.

Do Senators have term limits?


Not directly. While former prime minister Stephen Harper floated the idea of only appointing senators for eight or nine-year terms, the bill never passed and faced a constitutional challenge from Quebec.

Senators must retire when they turn 75 but how long they are allowed to sit depends on how old they were when appointed. Sen. Patrick Brazeau, appointed by Harper in 2009, could sit in the upper chamber for 40 years, as his mandated retirement date does not hit until 2049.

How are Senators chosen?

Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister.

In order to be eligible, Senators have to be a Canadian citizen, be between the ages of 30 and 75, live in the province or territory for which they are appointed, own real estate worth $4,000 in the province for which they are appointed and have a total net worth of at least $4,000.

In 2016, the government created an independent advisory board for Senate appointments, which provides non-binding recommendations to the prime minister.

The federal government’s website says there are 28 vacancies on the independent advisory board for Senate appointments. Carney said this week he will provide more details on his plan to change the advisory board later in July.

How did the Senate change under Trudeau?

Harper stopped appointing senators in 2013, after his efforts to reform the Senate with term limits were stymied by the courts. It left about two dozen vacancies in the upper chamber when former prime minister Justin Trudeau took office.

As Liberal party leader, Trudeau kicked senators out of his caucus in 2014 following a Senate expense scandal, and vowed to end patronage appointments.

After he became prime minister, Trudeau set up the independent advisory board to recommend appointments. While the new appointment process did not preclude people who had been involved in partisan politics, it was supposed to put a premium on merit, and appointments were made as independents. Senators can choose which group to join, or opt not to join any. Five current senators have no affiliation, including Tucker and Ouellette.

The board now accepts applications or nominations for senators, and vets them against the eligibility criteria, before making recommendations to the prime minister for who should be appointed.

Before Trudeau, the government representative in the Senate was referred to as the government leader in the Senate.

The Government Representative’s Office in the Senate says the change of title reflected the change of role, as the government representative is not part of a partisan group, does not lead a caucus and has no power to direct the votes of other Senators. The representative is a conduit between the government and the Senate, is a member of the Privy Council and can attend cabinet meetings to discuss the government’s legislative agenda. They are also responsible for shepherding legislation through the Senate.

Over his decade in office, Trudeau appointed 100 people to the Senate, 80 of whom are current senators.

They were not appointed as Liberal senators, but some have clear ties to the party.

What were the impacts of Trudeau’s Senate reforms?

Gary O’Brien, who served as clerk of the Senate between 2009 and 2015, said removing political parties from the Senate’s legislative process has not been without consequences.

“Parties aggregate and prioritize amendments, making the decision-making process more manageable,” he said. “On occasion, the Senate had placed a great number of amendments on the public record, making it difficult to know what the Senate’s priorities are. Not having a majority of senators in a party caucus has made the legislative process more complex.”

However, O’Brien also said there were some positive changes to the Senate under Trudeau. He noted that gender parity was achieved in late 2020, which he called a “remarkable accomplishment for any parliamentary institution.”

Lori Turnbull, a professor of political science at Dalhousie University, said senators are much more likely to suggest amendments now, which means that it can take a bill a lot longer to get through the House than the government thinks it will. She added it’s also harder to predict what kinds of questions will come up in committee meetings.

“It’s more unpredictable,” she said. “Senators are more independent.”

Turnbull also said Senate-focused lobbying is “way higher” than it ever was now that Senators are more likely to introduce amendments. She said that issue may be an unintended consequence of Trudeau’s changes.

“A senator who is not bound by a party, and who is more likely to suggest an amendment for the bill to go through, that’s a really important opportunity,” she said. “There’s reason to be concerned that there could be some pretty swift movement from particular industries, and does that create potential for conflicts of interest?”

How is Carney changing the Senate?

This week, Carney announced he is dropping the non-partisan criteria for appointments to the upper chamber.

A news release from the Prime Minister’s Office also said Carney is putting an “enhanced focus” on Senate applicants with expertise in Canadian strategic industries, regulatory frameworks plus emerging social and economic affairs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press