Senate Mace

The Senate Mace is one of the Upper Chamber’s most important artefacts. The brass and gold-plated ceremonial staff represents the authority of the Senate, granted by the Crown, to meet and pass laws; the mace must be in the Chamber for the duration of a Senate sitting. It is carried into the room during the Speaker’s parade that opens every sitting and then placed on a red cushion on the Clerk’s Table, with the crown facing the Speaker. When the monarch is in the Chamber, the mace is covered with a cloth.

The mace’s role in Canadian parliamentary tradition predates Confederation. It’s believed this particular mace was manufactured around 1840, making it the oldest among Canada’s legislative assemblies. The Senate Mace has survived four fires, including the 1916 blaze that destroyed the original Centre Block building on Parliament Hill. It was saved by the Usher of the Black Rod, Ernest Chambers.

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