ARTH3810 2019F Class Projects (Publication)

The Senate Chamber


Under the original coffered ceiling of the railway’s loading concourse, the “Red” Chamber is fitted to accommodate senators in traditional splendour. True to its roots in the British House of Lords, the chamber is furnished in royal red. The senators' red leather chairs and vintage desks have been moved here from Parliament Hill, and three newly-manufactured Sovereign Thrones are installed. These are used for the opening of Parliament by the Speaker of the Senate, the Queen, and her consort or the Governor General. They were commissioned to mark the 150th anniversary of the Senate, and to be more compatible with the building's Beaux-Arts style than the Gothic originals. Highly symbolic, the thrones literally represent the majesty and power attributed to kings, and their elevation on steps signifies authority over all (Joyal 1999). Here again is a symbolic representation that power and authority rests with an elite. 

Traditional "Canadian" symbols in the Chamber include maple leafs embedded in the bright red carpet and on the wall behind the Thrones, a carved Canadian coat of arms above the Thrones, and coats of arms for each of the provinces and territories mounted on pilasters (carved with stylized pine cones) lining the walls and encircling the chamber. 

This page has paths:

  1. Making the Past Present: Union Station Restoration – A Political Facelift? Maegen Sargent
  2. Bibliography Maegen Sargent
  3. Conclusion Maegen Sargent

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