The Canadian Senate: An Institution of Reconciliation?

Growing mainstream awareness of tensions surrounding Indigenous rights and recent political movement to promote reconciliation suggest that the time might be ripe to revisit some of the most important ideas for strengthening Indigenous Peoples' place and space within the Canadian federation, particularly within the country's central political institutions. This article argues that the Canadian Senate has the potential to be an important institution for reconciliation in Canada's system of federalism. It centres on one of the proposed recommendations of the Charlottetown Accord-reserved representation for Aboriginal people in the Senate. Using a theoretical framework based in treaty federalism, this article argues that reserved Indigenous representation in the Canadian Senate could provide a starting point to mitigate some of the existing tensions between dominant understandings of federalism and reconciliation, as well as to ensure that Canada's political institutions better represent the interests of Indigenous Peoples and Nations. The Senate's essential responsibilities in Canadian democracy, including representing sectional interests and reviewing legislation, make it an ideal starting place for realizing commitments to reconciliation in Canada's central political institutions.