#7 Senate Identity Crisis: What is Canada's Upper Chamber Actually For?
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#7 Senate Identity Crisis: What is Canada's Upper Chamber Actually For?
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About this listen
Canada has a Senate. You probably knew that.
But why does it exist? What was it really meant to do? And why does it so often feel like a political afterthought—or worse, a dumping ground for party loyalists?
In this episode of The Curiosity Journey, we peel back the layers of one of the country’s most misunderstood institutions. Born out of a need to balance power between big and small provinces, the Senate was designed to defend regional voices, offer sober second thought, and serve as a counterweight to the Commons. But that’s not quite how things played out.
We trace its British origins, its Canadian contradictions, and the quiet identity crisis that has haunted it since Confederation. Along the way, we explore why reforms have struggled, what modern changes mean, and whether there’s still a place for the Senate in a functioning democracy.
Is it time to scrap it? Fix it? Or finally give it the purpose it was promised?
FURTHER READING
Donald J. Savoie, Democracy in Canada: The Disintegration of Our Institutions