Editing Parliament of Canada (section)

=== Senate ===
{{Main|Senate of Canada}}
[[File:Cansenate.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]]]
The [[upper house]] of the Parliament of Canada, the Senate ({{langx|fr|Sénat|italic=unset}}), is a group of 105 individuals appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister;<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-24.html#h-5 ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 24.]</ref> all those appointed must, per the constitution, be a minimum of 30 years old, be a subject of the monarch, and own property with a net worth of at least $4,000, in addition to owning land worth no less than $4,000 within the province the candidate seeks to represent.<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-23.html#h-5 ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 23.]</ref> Senators served for life until 1965, when a constitutional amendment imposed a mandatory retirement age of 75. Senators may, however, resign their seats prior to that mark, and can lose their position should they fail to attend two consecutive sessions of Parliament.

The principle underlying the Senate's composition is equality amongst Canada's geographic regions (called Divisions in the Constitution): 24 for [[Ontario]], 24 for [[Quebec]], 24 for the [[Maritimes]] (10 for [[Nova Scotia]], 10 for [[New Brunswick]], and four for [[Prince Edward Island]]), and 24 for the [[Western Canada|Western provinces]] (six each for [[Manitoba]], [[British Columbia]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Alberta]]).<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-22.html#h-5 ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 22.]</ref> Additionally, senators are appointed from two geographic areas not part of any senatorial division. [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] (since 1949 the "newest" province, although [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador#The oldest European settlement in North America controversy|"oldest" English settlement]]), is represented by six senators. Since 1975 each of Canada's territories is represented by 1 senator—the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Yukon]], and (since its formation in 1999) [[Nunavut]]. An additional 4 or 8 senators may be appointed by the governor general, provided the approval of the King is secured and the four divisions are equally represented. This power has been employed once since 1867: to ensure the passage of the bill establishing the [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]], Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] advised Queen Elizabeth II to appoint extra senators in 1990. This results in a temporary maximum number of senators of 113, which must through attrition return to its normal number of 105.