Partisan picks only harm the Senate’s legitimacy problem

The move to a more independent Senate—now coming on 10 years—has improved the institution’s standing among Canadians but it has not solved the fundamental problem of its legitimacy deficit as an unelected Chamber.

The majority of respondents to a new poll—77 per cent—describe the fact that ‘new Senators sit as independent members and are not active in a political party’ as a ‘good change’ for the Upper Chamber. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY ISG SENATOR YUEN PAU WOO, ISG SENATOR DONNA DASKO

May 13, 2026

The Globe and Mail’s Andrew Coyne recently advocated for the removal of the Senate’s veto power, replacing it with a “suspensory veto” along the lines o...

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