Talk:List of current senators of Canada

Proposal for improving data consistency and update process

Noted that significant effort was needed to synchronize the data between the main lists of senators (and MPs) and the summary tables/text in this article (specifically "Standings" and "Appointment breakdown" in this article). Numbers for affiliations and provincial totals had become inconsistent, requiring manual cross-checking and correction.

This highlights a general challenge with manually maintaining complex, frequently updated lists like this one: ensuring data consistency across multiple tables and summaries is time-consuming and prone to error. Similar issues likely affect pages for MPs, given elections, by-elections, and caucus changes.

When senator details change (new appointments, retirements, affiliation changes), multiple parts of this article need updating:

1. The main list entry for the senator.
2. The "Standings" table (counts per province/affiliation).
3. The "Appointment breakdown" table (counts per PM/affiliation).
4. The summary text describing current numbers by affiliation.

To improve accuracy and maintainability, perhaps we could consider different approaches. Based on standard Wikipedia practices, here are a few options:

1. Manual Updates (Status Quo)

• Description: Continue updating all relevant sections manually as changes occur.
• Pros: Requires only standard editing skills, no complex setup needed.
• Cons: Prone to synchronization errors (as recently seen), time-consuming, relies on diligent editors noticing and correcting all relevant spots.

2. Dedicated Wikipedia Bot

• Description: A custom bot monitors reliable sources (e.g., official Parliament websites, or even better the Library of Parliament Database) and automatically updates the main lists, tables, and summary text.
• Pros: Potentially highly accurate, consistent, and fast updates. Reduces manual burden.
• Cons: Requires significant programming expertise, adherence to WP:Bot policy, formal community approval (WP:BRFA), and ongoing maintenance/monitoring. High barrier to entry.

3. Advanced Templates / Lua Modules

• Description: Store the core senator (and MP) data (name, province, affiliation, dates, appointing PM etc.) in a structured format on a dedicated subpage or within a Lua module. Use templates within this article to read that central data, generate the main list, and automatically calculate/display the summary tables and text counts.
• Pros: Ensures consistency within the article (update data once, it reflects everywhere). Leverages on-wiki tools. Reduces manual calculation errors.
• Cons: Requires significant expertise in advanced Wiki templating and potentially Lua scripting to design and implement. Initial setup is complex. Data still needs manual updating in the central location (though only once per change).

4. Wikidata Integration

• Description: Leverage Wikidata as the central data source. Information about each senator would be maintained on Wikidata. Templates on this page would query Wikidata to populate the main list and potentially calculate summary data.
• Pros: Promotes consistency across different Wikipedia language versions and Wikimedia projects. Centralizes data updates globally.
• Cons: Relies heavily on the completeness and accuracy of Wikidata entries for Canadian senators (and MPs). Requires expertise to create/adapt templates that can query and correctly format all the necessary information from Wikidata for this article's specific needs. May not perfectly handle all nuances or formatting requirements.

--- Given the recurring need for updates and the potential for errors with the current manual approach, I wanted to open a discussion among editors familiar with this page and Canadian political articles. What are your thoughts on these options? Is one preferable, or is there another approach we should consider? Is the current manual method sufficient if editors are simply more diligent?

Looking forward to hearing your perspectives.

Canadianpoliticaljunkie (talk) 14:12, 10 April 2025 (UTC)