Mulroney Institute and GapLab Lunch & Learn

Women-Friendly Policy Change in the Post-Reform Canadian Senate

Dr. Elizabeth McCallion,
University of Toronto

September 23, 2025
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Mulroney Hall 4023

The Canadian Senate has long been accused of acting as a rubber stamp on legislation. In the mid-2010s, reforms to the Senate sought to boost its independence so that it could provide better scrutiny over government policy. Since the reforms, senators have become increasingly activist, pushing back against the government’s policy agenda using the formal process of legislative amendments. Dr. McCallion’s talk examines whether senators’ newfound activism is aligned with a key expectation of the modern Senate: the protection of marginalized groups. It investigates the responsiveness of senators’ legislative activity to the interests of women in civil society. In Canada, party discipline has been known to stunt feminist initiatives in the legislature. But will the new independent senators, who are not subject to party discipline, respond to other representational demands, such as women’s? Dr. McCallion’s study finds that the reforms bolstered senators’ inclination and ability to promote women-friendly policy. What is more, networks of feminist senators have formed to advance women’s interests in legislative matters. Senators are not just talking the talk about women’s representation, but they are walking the walk, too. The findings can be instructive for architects of feminist democratic reform, and they can help civil society groups strategically engage with legislators to pursue their policy preferences.

Please join us for conversation and light refreshments.

Dr. Elizabeth McCallion

Elizabeth McCallion is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on women’s representation in the Canadian Parliament, with a particular interest in the Senate reforms. She investigates legislator behaviour and how it is enabled and constrained by institutional context. Her work has been published in academic journals such as Politics & Gender, Representation, and the Canadian Journal of Political Science.