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

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

GroupForAgainstAbsentTotalLiberal cabinet360137Liberal backbench5932495Conservatives393298435654NDP171119Independents0224Totals15813316307 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

GroupForAgainstAbstainAbsent TotalLiberals 41521462Conservatives1151522Independents21025Progressive Conservatives 20035Independent NDP10001Totals472132495 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 Mail's 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 Source:

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. 2nd reading 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.