Author: Casey Vander Ploeg
This report is the fourth in a series of reports exploring the rationale for provincial Senatorial elections and identifying non-constitutional means to advancing reform of Canada’s Senate.
The purpose of this report is to provide a brief historical record of Alberta’s second Senate election, and to place that event in context of the larger push for Senate reform.
Alberta’s Senate vote was no dull affair, whether it was Senator Ron Ghitter’s conditional vow to resign, Senator Michel Cogger’s conviction of influence peddling, a hastily approved pay raise for Senators, the construction of a $1.4 million tunnel, a $3.3 million “public relations” campaign, or a hasty Senate appointment.
The election still runs the risk of landing with a dull thud instead of being the bold move that advances Senate reform further up the political beach-head. The status quo has been clearly rattled, and the sentiments of a spurned electorate carry some very long-term implications that will continue to bubble under the surface.