Canadian Senate divisions

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Canadian Senate divisions" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Politics of Canada
Government (structure)
The Crown Monarch (list): Charles III Governor General (list): Mary Simon Monarchy in the provinces Lieutenant governors Royal prerogative
Executive King’s Privy Council Prime minister (List of prime ministers): Justin Trudeau Cabinet (List of Canadian ministries): 29th Canadian Ministry President of the Privy Council Clerk of the Privy Council Privy Council Office Public Service Provincial and territorial executive councils Premiers
Legislative Federal parliament (List of parliaments) Senate Speaker of the Senate Government Leader in the Senate Opposition Leader in the Senate Senate divisions House of Commons Speaker of the house Government Leader in the house Opposition Leader in the house His Majesty's Loyal Opposition Leader of the Opposition Shadow cabinet Provincial and territorial parliaments
Judicial Supreme court (List of justices) Chief Justice of Canada: Richard Wagner Courts of the Provinces and Territories Federal courts Military courts Constitution Constitution Acts Peace, order, and good government Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Elections Federal electoral districts Federal electoral system (List of federal elections) Provincial electoral districts Politics of the provinces
Local government Municipal government
Foreign relations Global Affairs Canada Minister: Mélanie Joly Diplomatic missions of / in Canada Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Canada–Latin America relations Canada–European Union relations Proposed annexation of Turks and Caicos Islands
Crown and Indigenous peoples Canadian Aboriginal law Aboriginal self-government First Nations bands Indigenous law Indigenous Peoples in Canada Métis Inuit Nunangat
Related topics Conservatism Constitutional law Federalism Liberalism Office-holders Political culture Provinces and territories Regions Republicanism
Canada portal Politics portal Other countries
v t e

Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.^[1] The four regions are the Western Provinces, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. These regions are intended to serve the Senate's purpose of providing regional representation in the Parliament of Canada, in contrast to the popular representation that the House of Commons is intended to provide.^[2] While not within any of the original four Senate divisions, Senate seats are also allocated to Newfoundland and Labrador and the three territories.^[3][2] The four divisions can be expanded when the need arises to have an extra two senators appointed to each regional division.

Second, it refers to divisions within a province represented by senators from the Canadian Senate, also known as "senatorial designation". Under the Constitution, only Quebec has official Senate divisions for each of the senatorial designations within the province.^[3] In all other provinces, senators are appointed to represent the province as a whole and the Constitution makes no reference to official senatorial designations for those provinces. Senators from provinces outside Quebec may simply "designate" a district they wish to symbolically represent within their province, which can be named at the time of their appointment or at a later time.^[4] These senate divisions have no specific geographic boundaries though their names often give a reference to a general geographic area. However a senator will sometimes create boundaries for their senate division even though it has no legal status. While relatively rare, a senator outside of Quebec can change his or her division in the same manner as party affiliation, simply by notifying the Clerk of the Senate.