(02/06/10) -

Canadians Want to Elect Their Senators

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Canada voice support for changing the way the members of their upper house are chosen, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 67 per cent of respondents support allowing Canadians to directly elect their senators.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Canada voice support for changing the way the members of their upper house are chosen, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 67 per cent of respondents support allowing Canadians to directly elect their senators.

In addition, 65 per cent of respondents believe senators should be limited to eight-year terms. Support is considerably lower for creating a panel of distinguished Canadians to choose senators, instead of the prime minister, and abolishing the Senate of Canada altogether.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in October 2008. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 37.6 per cent of the vote, and secured 143 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper assembled a minority administration. The Tories also earned a minority mandate after the 2006 election, ending more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

In May 2006, Harper introduced legislation to change the country’s electoral system. The bill presented by Harper—which was never ratified—would have affected the Senate of Canada, where members are currently appointed by the prime minister and can serve until they are 75 years old. Harper has promised to "create a process to choose elected senators."

Last month, Harper appointed five more people to the Senate. At this point, the Conservative Party controls 51 of the upper house’s 105 seats. The Liberal Party holds 49 seats, while the remaining five are occupied by independents or Progressive Conservatives.

New Democratic Party (NDP) legislator David Christopherson criticized the prime minister, saying, "He’s on the verge of a majority in the Senate, no one believes that he’ll want to reform or abolish it. It will be the final nail in the coffin of the faux populism that brought Stephen Harper and the Reform Party to Ottawa in the first place."

Polling Data

As you may know, several proposals have been made over the past few years to reform the Senate of Canada. Do you support or oppose each of these ideas? – "Support" listed

Complete Poll (PDF)