SENgage Celebration: Senate youth program reaches 100,000 young people
Questions and more questions accompanied the launch of SENgage in 2016.
Was the Senate ready for a youth engagement program?
Would senators be willing to add to their busy schedules and participate?
Would teachers even be interested in welcoming senators into their classrooms?
A decade later, SENgage programming reached its 100,000th young person, showing beyond doubt that the answers to those questions are yes, yes and 100,000 times yes.
“I have visited many schools over the years, but each visit is distinct in my memory,” said Senator Yonah Martin — a former schoolteacher herself — after the president of the Chilean Senate announced a SENgage-inspired program of his own.
Senator Yonah Martin takes a photo with a class of high school students in St. Catharine’s, Ontario, during a SENgage event in March 2024. (Photo credit: Office of Senator Yonah Martin)
“The classroom is a microcosm of Canadian society and our students are the global leaders of our future. SENgage is, therefore, an important and effective program I am happy to support."
SENgage offers different programming geared to all age groups. Elementary school kids might learn about the Senate through a colourful activity book, while older students can create and defend their own bill, or plan a fact-finding mission for a Senate committee. Youth organizations can also book SENgage events.
The pandemic temporarily halted in-person activities, but the SENgage team quickly retooled the program for virtual meetings. Teachers can still book both kinds of programming; the virtual component has allowed SENgage to plan national events for significant occasions like Black History Month.
For teachers, SENgage provides a way of making the Senate accessible to their students.
“You were able to make sometimes abstract concepts more concrete, and you sparked a genuine interest in civic engagement and participation in politics,” a high school teacher said in feedback collected by SENgage.
Another teacher described attending numerous civic events over 20 years and said, “hands down, [the SENgage event] was the standout and the best opportunity I have seen in my career for students to connect with Canada’s political world.”
SENgage is also the engine powering Model Senate, a signature annual event that brings more than 100 post-secondary students from across Canada to Ottawa for three days of simulated Senate sittings, committee hearings and networking with genuine senators and staff.
Each year is a little bit different. For the 2026 edition, model Senate participants debated bills they’d drafted themselves. Proceedings were also interrupted for an emergency debate about the sudden — and fortunately fictional — flooding of the land linking Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (a danger warned about in a senator’s bill).
“It’s very important that as youth, we start to learn about our democratic process and how things work, so when the mantle is passed down to us, we can carry the torch in the next phase of Canadian life,” participant Nana Asamoah said afterwards.
Whether in the classroom, online or in the Senate Chamber itself, SENgage programming continues to captivate students and inspire teachers. The SENgage team is grateful for the enthusiastic support from senators and teachers alike. On to the next 100,000 youth!
To learn more, visit the SENgage webpage.
Model Senate participants fill the Senate foyer for a networking soirée to open Model Senate 2026. More than 100 post-secondary students had the chance to meet real senators, their staff and members of the Senate Administration.
Model Senate 2026 participant Sophie Côté holds up a copy of a bill she drafted, in collaboration with Senate lawyers, that participants debated in the Senate Chamber.
Senator Suze Youance, second from right, stands with students of the École de technologie supérieure at UQAM in Montréal in February 2026. (Photo credit: Yassine Sanou, @yass.bdx)
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SENgage Celebration: Senate youth program reaches 100,000 young people
Questions and more questions accompanied the launch of SENgage in 2016.
Was the Senate ready for a youth engagement program?
Would senators be willing to add to their busy schedules and participate?
Would teachers even be interested in welcoming senators into their classrooms?
A decade later, SENgage programming reached its 100,000th young person, showing beyond doubt that the answers to those questions are yes, yes and 100,000 times yes.
“I have visited many schools over the years, but each visit is distinct in my memory,” said Senator Yonah Martin — a former schoolteacher herself — after the president of the Chilean Senate announced a SENgage-inspired program of his own.
Senator Yonah Martin takes a photo with a class of high school students in St. Catharine’s, Ontario, during a SENgage event in March 2024. (Photo credit: Office of Senator Yonah Martin)
“The classroom is a microcosm of Canadian society and our students are the global leaders of our future. SENgage is, therefore, an important and effective program I am happy to support."
SENgage offers different programming geared to all age groups. Elementary school kids might learn about the Senate through a colourful activity book, while older students can create and defend their own bill, or plan a fact-finding mission for a Senate committee. Youth organizations can also book SENgage events.
The pandemic temporarily halted in-person activities, but the SENgage team quickly retooled the program for virtual meetings. Teachers can still book both kinds of programming; the virtual component has allowed SENgage to plan national events for significant occasions like Black History Month.
For teachers, SENgage provides a way of making the Senate accessible to their students.
“You were able to make sometimes abstract concepts more concrete, and you sparked a genuine interest in civic engagement and participation in politics,” a high school teacher said in feedback collected by SENgage.
Another teacher described attending numerous civic events over 20 years and said, “hands down, [the SENgage event] was the standout and the best opportunity I have seen in my career for students to connect with Canada’s political world.”
SENgage is also the engine powering Model Senate, a signature annual event that brings more than 100 post-secondary students from across Canada to Ottawa for three days of simulated Senate sittings, committee hearings and networking with genuine senators and staff.
Each year is a little bit different. For the 2026 edition, model Senate participants debated bills they’d drafted themselves. Proceedings were also interrupted for an emergency debate about the sudden — and fortunately fictional — flooding of the land linking Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (a danger warned about in a senator’s bill).
“It’s very important that as youth, we start to learn about our democratic process and how things work, so when the mantle is passed down to us, we can carry the torch in the next phase of Canadian life,” participant Nana Asamoah said afterwards.
Whether in the classroom, online or in the Senate Chamber itself, SENgage programming continues to captivate students and inspire teachers. The SENgage team is grateful for the enthusiastic support from senators and teachers alike. On to the next 100,000 youth!
To learn more, visit the SENgage webpage.
Model Senate participants fill the Senate foyer for a networking soirée to open Model Senate 2026. More than 100 post-secondary students had the chance to meet real senators, their staff and members of the Senate Administration.
Model Senate 2026 participant Sophie Côté holds up a copy of a bill she drafted, in collaboration with Senate lawyers, that participants debated in the Senate Chamber.
Senator Suze Youance, second from right, stands with students of the École de technologie supérieure at UQAM in Montréal in February 2026. (Photo credit: Yassine Sanou, @yass.bdx)