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Dictionary of Canadian Biography
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      d. 17 May 1815 at Quebec
      PANET, JEAN-ANTOINE
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Canadian Senate

The Senate is the appointed upper house of the Canadian parliament. John A. Macdonald’s overriding goal for confederation had always been a system that, though federal in order to secure the assent of Quebec and the Maritimes, would be as centralized as possible, with a central government directed by a powerful executive. At the London conference William Pearce Howland worried about the power of the projected senate, whose members were to be appointed for life by the governor general. To curb its power over the lower house, he suggested that each of the proposed provinces be allowed to appoint senators to fixed terms. It was William Alexander Henry’s suggestion, however, that was incorporated into the British North America Act: that the elected government be given the authority to appoint a specified number of additional senators in order to guarantee that the representatives of the people would not be held hostage by the appointed body.

Related Biographies

AIKINS (Eakins), JAMES COX
BROWN, GEORGE
CHRISTIE, DAVID
FLINT, BILLA
HARDISTY, RICHARD CHARLES
HENRY, WILLIAM ALEXANDER
HOWLAND, Sir WILLIAM PEARCE
KING, WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE
MACDONALD, Sir JOHN ALEXANDER
ROSS, Sir GEORGE WILLIAM
SANBORN, JOHN SEWELL

Other Resources

Senate of Canada
Senate of Canada - The Canadian Encyclopedia. Content archived on 12 Dec. 2024
Senate of Canada - Wikipedia

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We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada.


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