- Supports reform of the Senate, and attempted reforms in 2006 and 2014 aimed at making the Senate more democratic by electing Senators and imposing term limits. The Liberal-dominated Senate blocked these attempts, indicating that the proposals would require a Constitutional amendment, and then in 2014 by a Supreme Court advisory opinion which indicated that such plans would require a constitutional amendment (1, 2, 4, 8)
- Believes that any new attempt to reform the Senate should come from the provinces as their support would be required for it to pass (3, 4)
- Pledged not to appoint any new Senators until the Senate is reformed in an attempt to reduce costs and place pressure on provinces to create a plan to update the institution; currently, 22 of 105 seats are vacant and it has been two and a half years since the last appointment (2, 3)
- Promised to not appoint any Senators during the 2006 election, though 59 have been appointed since 2008, when the Conservative government needed more Senators to ensure Conservative legislation would pass the Upper House—though they continued to appoint Senators after this point (6, 7, 22)
- Appointed four Senators who had previously been elected by citizens in the province of Alberta (5)
|
- Wants to abolish the Senate and is seeking a mandate from Canadians to do so in this election (9, 10)
- Has pledged to keep trying for Senate abolition despite provincial governments’ opposition and has promised to work with the provinces to ensure that it happens (11)
- Put forth a motion to end partisan activities in the Senate in 2013, which was defeated by the Conservative and Liberal parties (12)
|
- Wants to reform the Senate to make the chamber a place of sober, second thought, and for reflective analysis on legislation as it was intended to be (13, 14)
- Pledges to introduce an open, non-partisan, and merit-based process of appointing Senators that respects provincial interests (15, 17)
- Ejected Senators from the Liberal caucus, allowing them to sit as independents with no formal ties to Liberal parliamentary machinery, to make them more independent and less partisan (14, 16)
- Believes that promising to abolish the Senate is reckless as it would require the support of some provinces that will never agree to it, and will seek reform without the need of a constitutional amendment (9, 15)
|
- Pledges to create a nonpartisan commission to speak with Canadians to create a constitutional reform proposal for a new Senate during the next Parliament, which would then be put forward as a national referendum asking if Canadians want the Senate reformed or abolished (17, 18)
- Will hold a national referendum on Senate reform to determine how to proceed with the possibility of electing Senators and changing regional distribution (17)
- Supports the implementation of a proportional representation system to elect Senators (19)
- Believes the Conservative decision to stop appointing Senators is unconstitutional (20, 21)
|
