A new poll suggests Canadians would much rather reform the unelected Senate than abolish it or keep it as it is.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey indicates 59 per cent of respondents believed senators should be elected.

By contrast, only 27 per cent thought the Senate should be abolished and a mere 10 per cent wanted the prime minister to continue appointing senators.

The telephone survey of more than 1,000 Canadians was conducted Jan. 28-31, just as Prime Minister Stephen Harper was appointing five more partisans to the Senate -- finally giving the Conservatives the numerical upper hand in the red chamber.

A survey this size is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points 19 times in 20.

Harper has indicated that he will use his party's newfound Senate dominance to revive legislation that would impose term limits on senators and create a process to elect them.