Foreword

• Author: Gregory Tardi
• Pages: 11-12

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Foreword

e term “senate” was f‌irst applied to an assembly of elders who

had tasks of advising the ultimate holder of power in ancient Rome.

After a long hiatus, the notion of senate resurfaced in European

states such as the United Kingdom during the Age of Enlighten-

ment. In its more modern interpretation, the designation has come

to mean a parliamentary body based, in principle, on the nobility

or “f‌irst estate,” or a chamber of wise thought aiming to rectify the

political interests and excesses of the lower house of Parliament.

In countries with extensive and dicult geography, like Canada, a

senate was also thought of as having a role in providing a voice for

distant and less densely populated areas. It was into this historical

soil that, in , the British North America Act, now called the Con-

stitution Act, 1867, planted a living tree in Canada capable of growth

and expansion within its natural limits. e Senate of Canada was,

and continues to be, a major branch of that living tree.

e specif‌ic model for the Senate of Canada was the United

Kingdom’s House of Lords, as far as circumstances would per-

mit. Since Confederation, the two institutions have developed in

dierent directions. While the Senate of this country may today

still appear somewhat similar in principle to its British forebear,

over the  years of Confederation it has developed into a unique