Members of the 38th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage explained

This article lists the members of the 38th Parliament of Canada and how they voted on the Civil Marriage Act (Bill C-38), which amended the Marriage Act of Canada to recognize same-sex marriage. The legislation was later challenged in the 39th Canadian Parliament.

Votes

House of Commons

	Group	For	Against	Absent	Total	Liberal cabinet	36	0	1	37	Liberal backbench	59	32	4	95	Conservatives	3	93	2	98	43	5	6	54	NDP	17	1	1	19	Independents	0	2	2	4
	Totals	158	133	16	307

This tally does not include the Speaker, who only votes in the House if there is a tie.

Up to 154 votes were needed to ensure the legislation passes, although the only formal requirement for passing legislation is the assent of a majority of members in attendance for the vote.

Senate

	Group	For	Against	Abstain	Absent	Total		41	5	2	14	62	Conservatives	1	15	1	5	22	Independents	2	1	0	2	5		2	0	0	3	5	Independent NDP	1	0	0	0	1
	Totals	47	21	3	24	95

For the purposes of this table, the Speaker of the Senate, who did not vote, is counted as an absentee since the official Senate tabulation does not list him as an abstainer.

Background

The Globe and Mails analysis on December 13, 2004 placed the upper limit of opposed votes at 142.

Most of the Liberal cabinet, the Bloc Québécois (BQ) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) voted in favour of the Bill, while most of the Conservative Party members were against it. In the Liberal backbench, about 2/3 of members voted in favour.

On April 12, 2005, a vote was held on an amendment to Bill C-38 proposed by the Leader of the Opposition, Stephen Harper. The amendment would have stopped C-38 from advancing and maintained the "traditional" definition of marriage. The proposed amendment was defeated by a vote of 164 to 132. Ten MPs were absent, including 5 BQ MPs who reportedly oppose the bill. Certain MPs who had previously not declared their positions on the issue revealed their stands on the bill in this vote. All of these voted against the amendment, and therefore can be assumed to be in favour of same-sex marriage. Liberal MP Joe Comuzzi, who months prior to the vote mused about resigning his post as Minister of State, voted against the amendment because "it was a Conservative motion".

A vote-in-principle was expected around April 19, but Conservatives stalled the bill by bringing up more MPs to speak on the issue. The 2nd reading vote came up on a recorded division, and passed 164–137. The rise in votes for the opposition came from several Bloc MPs who were absent for Harper's amendment, but present for the 2nd reading vote.

Bill C-38 entered Report Stage on June 16, 2005. After exiting committee, the Government agreed to amendments to the bill that will further protect religious officials who do not wish to perform same-sex marriages, and to protect charitable organizations from losing their tax status.

The third reading vote on that bill in the House was expected the final week of June, after the House adopted a motion (supported by the Liberals, Bloc Québécois, and NDP) to extend the sitting of the house. Bill C-48 passed just before midnight on June 23, 2005 when the Liberals agreed with the Bloc and NDP to force a snap vote on the bill. The snap vote on C-48 was significant because if all Conservative MPs were present for the vote, and if all Bloc opposed, and the Independents voted as they usually did, the Government would have been defeated.

House of Commons

Liberal Cabinet

As per the principle of cabinet solidarity, all cabinet ministers were expected to vote in favour of government-introduced legislation. While backbench MPs in 2003, six future cabinet ministers voted in favour of a Canadian Alliance motion defining marriage in exclusively traditional terms. Joe Comuzzi decided to leave cabinet in order to vote against SSM. John Efford, a cabinet minister who recently opposed SSM decided to vote in favour of C-38. Former Liberal MP Pat O'Brien said he was personally told by six ministers that they may leave the cabinet rather than support SSM legislation, but this did not happen. Stephen Harper has pressured Paul Martin to allow his cabinet members a free vote, citing the precedent of Brian Mulroney in a capital punishment vote in 1988.

Name	2003 Alliance motion	Harper amend.	2nd reading	3rd reading	Riding
Reg Alcock					Winnipeg South, MB
Mauril Bélanger					Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Carolyn Bennett					St. Paul's, ON
Ethel Blondin-Andrew					Western Arctic, NT
Claudette Bradshaw					Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Scott Brison					Kings—Hants, NS
Aileen Carroll					Barrie, ON
Raymond Chan					Richmond, BC
Irwin Cotler					Mount Royal, QC
Stéphane Dion					Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Ujjal Dosanjh					Vancouver South, BC
Ken Dryden					York Centre, ON
John Efford					Avalon, NL
David Emerson					Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Joe Fontana					London North Centre, ON
Liza Frulla					Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
John Godfrey					Don Valley West, ON
Ralph Goodale					Wascana, SK
Bill Graham					Toronto Centre, ON
Albina Guarnieri					Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Tony Ianno					Trinity—Spadina, ON
Jean Lapierre					Outremont, QC
Paul Martin					LaSalle—Émard, QC
John McCallum					Markham—Unionville, ON
Joe McGuire					Egmont, PE
Anne McLellan					Edmonton Centre, AB
Andy Mitchell					Parry Sound-Muskoka, ON
Stephen Owen					Vancouver Quadra, BC
Jim Peterson					Willowdale, ON
Pierre Pettigrew					Papineau, QC
Geoff Regan					Halifax West, NS
Lucienne Robillard					Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Jacques Saada					Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Andy Scott					Fredericton, NB
Belinda Stronach					Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Tony Valeri					Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Joe Volpe					Eglinton—Lawrence, ON

Liberal backbench

At the Liberal biennial convention in March, delegates overwhelmingly approved same-sex marriage as a matter of party policy. Paul Martin allowed his caucus a free vote.

Name	2003 Alliance motion	Harper amend.	3rd reading	Riding
Peter Adams				Peterborough, ON
David Anderson				Victoria, BC
Jean Augustine				Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Larry Bagnell				Yukon, YT
Navdeep Bains				Mississauga—Brampton South, ON
Eleni Bakopanos				Ahuntsic, QC
Sue Barnes				London West, ON
Colleen Beaumier				Brampton West, ON
Don Bell				North Vancouver, BC
Maurizio Bevilacqua				Vaughan, ON
Françoise Boivin				Gatineau, QC
Ray Bonin				Nickel Belt, ON
Ken Boshcoff				Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Don Boudria				Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Bonnie Brown				Oakville, ON
Sarmite Bulte				Parkdale—High Park, ON
Gerry Byrne				Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
John Cannis				Scarborough Centre, ON
Gary Carr				Halton, ON
Marlene Catterall				Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Brenda Chamberlain				Guelph, ON
Denis Coderre				Bourassa, QC
Joe Comuzzi				Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Roy Cullen			Paired	Etobicoke North, ON
Rodger Cuzner				Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Jean-Claude D'Amours				Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Paul DeVillers				Simcoe North, ON
Ruby Dhalla				Brampton—Springdale, ON
Claude Drouin				Beauce, QC
Wayne Easter				Malpeque, PE
Mark Eyking				Sydney—Victoria, NS
Raymonde Folco				Laval—Les Îles, QC
Hedy Fry				Vancouver Centre, BC
Roger Gallaway				Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Marc Godbout				Ottawa—Orléans, ON
Mark Holland				Ajax—Pickering, ON
Charles Hubbard				Miramichi, NB
Marlene Jennings				Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Susan Kadis				Thornhill, ON
Nancy Karetak-Lindell				Nunavut, NU
Jim Karygiannis				Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Wajid Khan				Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Walt Lastewka				St. Catharines, ON
Dominic LeBlanc	N	N		Beauséjour, NB
Derek Lee				Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Judi Longfield				Whitby—Oshawa, ON
Lawrence MacAulay				Cardigan, PE
Paul Macklin				Northumberland—Quinte West, ON
Gurbax Malhi				Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON
John Maloney				Welland, ON
Diane Marleau				Sudbury, ON
Keith Martin				Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Bill Matthews				Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
David McGuinty				Ottawa South, ON
John McKay				Scarborough-Guildwood, ON
Dan McTeague				Pickering—Scarborough East, ON
Maria Minna				Beaches—East York, ON
Shawn Murphy				Charlottetown, PE
Lynn Myers				Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Anita Neville				Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Massimo Pacetti				Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Denis Paradis				Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Bernard Patry			Paired	Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Beth Phinney				Hamilton Mountain, ON
Jerry Pickard				Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON
Russ Powers				Ancaster—Dundas—Flam.—Westdale, ON
Marcel Proulx				Hull—Aylmer, QC
Yasmin Ratansi				Don Valley East, ON
Karen Redman				Kitchener Centre, ON
Pablo Rodriguez				Honoré—Mercier, QC
Anthony Rota				Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
Todd Russell				Labrador, NL
Michael Savage				Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Andy Savoy				Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
Francis Scarpaleggia				Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Judy Sgro				York West, ON
Mario Silva				Davenport, ON
Raymond Simard				Saint Boniface, MB
Scott Simms				Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
David Smith				Pontiac, QC
Lloyd St. Amand				Brant, ON
Brent St. Denis				Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Paul Steckle				Huron—Bruce, ON
Paul Szabo				Mississauga South, ON
Andrew Telegdi				Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Lui Temelkovski				Oak Ridges—Markham, ON
Robert G. Thibault				West Nova, NS
Alan Tonks				York South—Weston, ON
Paddy Torsney				Burlington, ON
Rose-Marie Ur				Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Roger Valley				Kenora, ON
Tom Wappel				Scarborough Southwest, ON
Bryon Wilfert				Richmond Hill, ON
Borys Wrzesnewskyj				Etobicoke Centre, ON
Paul Zed		Paired		Saint John, NB

Conservatives

At the Conservative convention, delegates overwhelmingly approved the definition of marriage as only being between one man and one woman as a matter of party policy with 74% in favour, and 26% opposed. Stephen Harper allowed his caucus a free vote.

Name	2003 Alliance motion	Harper amend.	2nd reading	3rd reading	Riding
Jim Abbott					Kootenay—Columbia, BC
Diane Ablonczy					Calgary—Nose Hill, AB
Dean Allison					Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON
Rona Ambrose					Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB
Rob Anders					Calgary West, AB
David L. Anderson					Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Dave Batters					Palliser, SK
Leon Benoit					Vegreville—Wainwright, AB
James Bezan					Selkirk—Interlake, MB
Garry Breitkreuz					Yorkton—Melville, SK
Gord Brown					Leeds—Grenville, ON
Colin Carrie					Oshawa, ON
Bill Casey					Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS
Rick Casson					Lethbridge, AB
David Chatters					Westlock--St. Paul, AB
Mike Chong					Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
John Cummins					Delta—Richmond East, BC
Stockwell Day					Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC
Barry Devolin					Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Norman Doyle					St. John's East, NL
John Duncan					Vancouver Island North, BC
Ken Epp					Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
Diane Finley					Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Brian Fitzpatrick					Prince Albert, SK
Steven Fletcher					Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
Paul Forseth					New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Cheryl Gallant					Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Peter Goldring					Edmonton East, AB
Gary Goodyear					Cambridge, ON
Jim Gouk					British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Gurmant Grewal					Newton—North Delta, BC
Nina Grewal					Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Helena Guergis					Simcoe—Grey, ON
Art Hanger					Calgary Northeast, AB
Stephen Harper					Calgary Southwest, AB
Richard Harris					Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Jeremy Harrison					Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Loyola Hearn					St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Russ Hiebert					South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Jay Hill					Prince George—Peace River, BC
Betty Hinton					Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Rahim Jaffer					Edmonton—Strathcona, AB
Brian Jean					Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Dale Johnston					Wetaskiwin, AB
Randy Kamp					Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
Gerald Keddy					South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
Jason Kenney					Calgary Southeast, AB
Ed Komarnicki					Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Daryl Kramp					Prince Edward—Hastings, ON
Guy Lauzon					Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON
Tom Lukiwski					Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Gary Lunn					Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
James Lunney					Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Peter MacKay					Central Nova, NS
Dave MacKenzie					Oxford, ON
Inky Mark					Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
Ted Menzies					Macleod, AB
Rob Merrifield					Yellowhead, AB
Larry Miller					Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Bob Mills					Red Deer, AB
James Moore					Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC
Rob Moore					Fundy Royal, NB
Rob Nicholson					Niagara Falls, ON
Gordon O'Connor					Carleton—Mississippi Mills, ON
Deepak Obhrai					Calgary East, AB
Bev Oda					Durham, ON
Brian Pallister					Portage—Lisgar, MB
Charlie Penson					Peace River, AB
Pierre Poilievre					Nepean—Carleton, ON
Jim Prentice					Calgary Centre-North, AB
Joe Preston					Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
James Rajotte					Edmonton—Leduc, AB
Scott Reid					Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON
John Reynolds					West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Lee Richardson					Calgary Centre, AB
Gerry Ritz					Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Andrew Scheer					Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Gary Schellenberger					Perth Wellington, ON
Werner Schmidt					Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Carol Skelton					Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK
Joy Smith					Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Monte Solberg					Medicine Hat, AB
Kevin Sorenson					Crowfoot, AB
Darrel Stinson					Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Chuck Strahl					Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, BC
Greg Thompson					New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Myron Thompson					Wild Rose, AB
David Tilson					Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Vic Toews					Provencher, MB
Bradley Trost					Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Merv Tweed					Brandon—Souris, MB
Peter Van Loan					York—Simcoe, ON
Maurice Vellacott					Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
Mark Warawa					Langley, BC
Jeff Watson					Essex, ON
Randy White					Abbotsford, BC
John G. Williams					Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Lynne Yelich					Blackstrap, SK

Bloc Québécois

The BQ had a free vote.

Name	Harper amend.	3rd reading	Riding
Guy André			Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Gérard Asselin			Manicouagan, QC
Claude Bachand			Saint-Jean QC
André Bellavance			Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Stéphane Bergeron		Paired	Verchères—Les-Patriotes, QC
Bernard Bigras			Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Raynald Blais			Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Alain Boire			Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
France Bonsant			Compton—Stanstead, QC
Robert Bouchard			Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Marc Boulianne			Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Diane Bourgeois			Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Paule Brunelle			Trois-Rivières, QC
Serge Cardin			Sherbrooke, QC
Robert Carrier			Alfred-Pellan, QC
Roger Clavet			Louis-Hébert, QC
Bernard Cleary			Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Guy Côté			Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Paul Crête			Montmagny—L'Islet— Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Nicole Demers			Laval, QC
Johanne Deschamps			Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Odina Desrochers			Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Gilles Duceppe			Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Meili Faille			Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Christiane Gagnon			Québec, QC
Marcel Gagnon			Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Sébastien Gagnon			Jonquière—Alma, QC
Roger Gaudet			Montcalm, QC
Michel Gauthier			Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Monique Guay			Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Michel Guimond			Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC
Maka Kotto			Saint-Lambert, QC
Mario Laframboise			Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Francine Lalonde	Paired		Mercier, QC
Réal Lapierre			Lévis—Bellechasse, QC
Carole Lavallée			Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Marc Lemay			Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Yves Lessard			Chambly—Borduas, QC
Yvon Lévesque			Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Yvan Loubier			Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Richard Marceau			Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Réal Ménard			Hochelaga, QC
Serge Ménard			Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Pierre Paquette		Paired	Joliette, QC
Gilles-A. Perron			Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Pauline Picard			Drummond, QC
Louis Plamondon			Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC
Denise Poirier-Rivard			Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Jean-Yves Roy			Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Benoît Sauvageau			Repentigny, QC
Christian Simard			Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Caroline St-Hilaire			Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Louise Thibault			Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Robert Vincent			Shefford, QC

New Democratic Party

The NDP caucus did not allow a free vote so MPs were obliged to vote in favour by the party whip.

Name	2003 Alliance motion	Harper amend.	2nd reading	3rd reading	Riding
Charlie Angus					Timmins-James Bay, ON
Bill Blaikie					Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Ed Broadbent					Ottawa Centre, ON
David Christopherson					Hamilton Centre, ON
Joe Comartin					Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Jean Crowder					Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Nathan Cullen					Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Libby Davies					Vancouver East, BC
Bev Desjarlais					Churchill, MB
Yvon Godin					Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Peter Julian					Burnaby—New Westminster, BC
Jack Layton					Toronto—Danforth, ON
Pat Martin					Winnipeg Centre, MB
Tony Martin					Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Brian Masse					Windsor West, ON
Alexa McDonough					Halifax, NS
Bill Siksay					Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Peter Stoffer					Sackville——Eastern Shore, NS
Judy Wasylycia-Leis					Winnipeg North, MB

Independents

Name	2003 Alliance motion	Harper amend.	2nd reading	3rd reading	Riding
Chuck Cadman					Surrey North, BC
David Kilgour					Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Pat O'Brien					London—Fanshawe, ON
Carolyn Parrish					Mississauga—Erindale, ON

Speaker

As per convention, Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House of Commons did not vote because the result was not a tie.

External links

www.howdtheyvote.ca — has the complete voting history of the 38th Parliament, including Bill C-38.