Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Encyclopedia
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house
of the Parliament of Canada
and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament (MPs). The Speaker
's role in presiding over Canada
's House of Commons
is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system
(see Speaker of the House of Commons
). The current Speaker is Andrew Scheer
.
In Canada it is the Speaker's responsibility to manage the House of Commons and supervise its staff. It is also the Speaker's duty to act as a liaison with the Senate
and the Crown. The Speaker of the House of Commons receives a salary of about $230,000 CAD
and has use of the official residence
, The Farm
, an estate located at Kingsmere in Gatineau Park
, Quebec
, across the river from Ottawa
.
The term "Speaker" originates from the British parliamentary tradition. The French term now used in Canada is Président (president, chairperson, or presiding officer); the term Orateur, a calque
(literal translation) of "Speaker" and formerly the term used in France for the Speaker of the British House of Commons
, was used until a few decades ago. By convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as "Mister Speaker", for a male, and "Madame Speaker", for a female.
. However, in 1986 this was changed and they are now selected by secret ballot
. The Speaker remains a sitting MP, but only votes on matters in the case of a tie.
All MPs except for Cabinet ministers and party leaders are eligible to run for the Speakership. Any MP who does not wish to put his or her name forward must issue a letter withdrawing from the ballot by the day before the vote. All MPs who do not remove their name from the ballot as of 6pm the day before the election are listed as candidates on the ballot and are allowed a five minute speech to persuade their colleagues as to why they should be elected.
The election is presided over by the Dean of the House
, currently Louis Plamondon
, who is the longest continuously serving MP who is not in Cabinet.
All candidates who receive less than 5% of the vote are removed from the ballot. If no candidate received less than 5% of the vote then the MP with the fewest vote drops off. This continues, with a one hour break between ballots, until one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. In the event of a tie on the final ballot, the ballot is taken again. This happened once, in 1993, when Gilbert Parent
won over Jean-Robert Gauthier
.
The winner is escorted to the Speaker's chair by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Official Opposition. The newly elected Speaker, by tradition, feigns reluctance as he or she is "dragged" to the chair in a practice dating from the days when British Speakers risked execution if the news they reported to the King was displeasing.
On June 2, 2011, Conservative Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu'Appelle) was elected Speaker
, defeating the following MPs over the course of six ballots: New Democrat Denise Savoie
(Victoria (electoral district)
) and Conservatives Dean Allison
(Niagara West—Glanbrook
), Barry Devolin
(Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
), Ed Holder
(London West
), Lee Richardson
(Calgary Centre
), Bruce Stanton
(Simcoe North
), and Merv Tweed
(Brandon-Souris).
, which includes voting confidence in the government. Because of this, the minority government can slightly weaken the opposition's power by electing an opposition speaker.
In 1957, when John George Diefenbaker took power with a minority Progressive Conservative government, he offered the Speaker's chair to Stanley Knowles
of the opposition Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(the precursor to the NDP
), who declined the appointment. During the 1926 tenure of Arthur Meighen
's Conservative ministry, during the 1979 ministry of Progressive Conservative Joe Clark
. In the 39th Parliament
of Conservative Stephen Harper
, three opposition members, Peter Milliken
, Diane Marleau
and Marcel Proulx
, ran for Speaker with Milliken winning. So far, every Speaker from an opposition party has been a Liberal.
decided to follow the custom of the Speaker of the British House of Commons
and ran in the 1968 election
as an independent. Both the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party
agreed not to run candidates against him. The New Democratic Party
, however, declined to withdraw their candidate. Lamoureux was re-elected and continued to serve as Speaker. However, in the 1972 election
, the opposition parties did not come to an agreement and ran candidates against him. Lamoureux was again returned but future Speakers would not repeat his attempt to run as an independent. The opposition parties may have chosen not to follow the 1968 precedent because of how close the election was: it produced a Liberal minority government with just two more seats than the Conservatives.
's minority government
, Milliken voted in favour of the NDP budget amendment. Despite popular belief that the Speaker, as a Liberal MP, would automatically support the government, his vote was pre-determined by other factors. As Speaker, Milliken's vote must be cast to allow the continuation of debate, or to maintain the status quo. Thus, the Speaker voted in favour of second reading, "to allow the House time for further debate so that it can make its own decision at some future time." The bill would later pass third reading without the need for Milliken's vote.
Speakers have only needed to vote in order to break a tie 11 times in Canadian parliamentary history. Milliken has done so on 6 occasions, more than all previous Speakers combined.
The Deputy Speaker for the 41st Parliament is Denise Savoie
(NDP
), and the other two presiding officers for the first session are Deputy Chair Barry Devolin
(Conservative) and Assistant Deputy Chair Bruce Stanton
(Conservative).
. Canadian provincial and territorial legislature
s also have Speakers with much the same roles.
The position was preceded by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
.
Key:
++Lamoureaux emulated the tradition of the Speaker of the British House of Commons
and ran for re-election as an Independent MP
in the 1968 and 1972 general elections.
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament (MPs). The Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
's role in presiding over Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
(see Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the House of Commons can refer to:*Speaker of the House of Commons *Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada*Speaker of the Northern Ireland House of Commons...
). The current Speaker is Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer is a Canadian Member of Parliament and the Speaker of the House of Commons. At the age of 32, he is the youngest person to serve in this capacity in Canadian parliamentarian history.-Early life and career:...
.
Purpose
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
and the Crown. The Speaker of the House of Commons receives a salary of about $230,000 CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
and has use of the official residence
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
, The Farm
The Farm (Canada)
The Farm is the official residence of the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons. It is located in Gatineau Park in the community of Kingsmere, part of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada, near the capital Ottawa....
, an estate located at Kingsmere in Gatineau Park
Gatineau Park
Gatineau Park is a park located in the National Capital Region, in Quebec's Outaouais region, just north of Ottawa, Ontario. Administered by the National Capital Commission, the park is a 361 km² wedge of land to the west of the Gatineau River...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, across the river from Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
The term "Speaker" originates from the British parliamentary tradition. The French term now used in Canada is Président (president, chairperson, or presiding officer); the term Orateur, a calque
Calque
In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
(literal translation) of "Speaker" and formerly the term used in France for the Speaker of the British House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
, was used until a few decades ago. By convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as "Mister Speaker", for a male, and "Madame Speaker", for a female.
Election
While the Constitution requires that the Speaker be elected by the House of Commons, traditionally this amounted to the rubber-stamp approval of a Member nominated by the Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
. However, in 1986 this was changed and they are now selected by secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. The Speaker remains a sitting MP, but only votes on matters in the case of a tie.
All MPs except for Cabinet ministers and party leaders are eligible to run for the Speakership. Any MP who does not wish to put his or her name forward must issue a letter withdrawing from the ballot by the day before the vote. All MPs who do not remove their name from the ballot as of 6pm the day before the election are listed as candidates on the ballot and are allowed a five minute speech to persuade their colleagues as to why they should be elected.
The election is presided over by the Dean of the House
Dean of the House (Canada)
In Canada, the Dean of the House is the Member of the House of Commons with the longest unbroken record of service who is not a Cabinet Minister, party Leader, House Leader or Whip. The Dean is responsible for presiding over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons at the beginning of...
, currently Louis Plamondon
Louis Plamondon
Louis Plamondon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec and the current interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc Québécois ....
, who is the longest continuously serving MP who is not in Cabinet.
All candidates who receive less than 5% of the vote are removed from the ballot. If no candidate received less than 5% of the vote then the MP with the fewest vote drops off. This continues, with a one hour break between ballots, until one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. In the event of a tie on the final ballot, the ballot is taken again. This happened once, in 1993, when Gilbert Parent
Gilbert Parent
Gilbert "Gib" Parent, PC was a Canadian Member of Parliament. He is best known in his role of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons between 1994 and 2001....
won over Jean-Robert Gauthier
Jean-Robert Gauthier
Jean-Robert Gauthier, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian politician.A chiropractor by training, he entered politics as trustee on a local school board. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons to represent the riding of Ottawa East in the 1972 election as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament...
.
The winner is escorted to the Speaker's chair by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Official Opposition. The newly elected Speaker, by tradition, feigns reluctance as he or she is "dragged" to the chair in a practice dating from the days when British Speakers risked execution if the news they reported to the King was displeasing.
On June 2, 2011, Conservative Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu'Appelle) was elected Speaker
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons election, 2011
An election for Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons was held on June 2, 2011, at the beginning of the first session of the 41st Canadian House of Commons, following the 2011 federal election. Andrew Scheer won the election after six ballots, becoming the youngest Speaker in Canada's history...
, defeating the following MPs over the course of six ballots: New Democrat Denise Savoie
Denise Savoie
Denise Savoie is a Canadian politician, currently serving as the federal Member of Parliament for Victoria. She was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2006 federal election as a candidate of the New Democratic Party....
(Victoria (electoral district)
Victoria (electoral district)
Victoria is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1904 and since 1925....
) and Conservatives Dean Allison
Dean Allison
Dean Allison is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2004 federal election for the new riding of Niagara West—Glanbrook...
(Niagara West—Glanbrook
Niagara West—Glanbrook
Niagara West—Glanbrook is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.The riding was created in 2003 from parts of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot,...
), Barry Devolin
Barry Devolin
Barry Devolin, MP is a Canadian politician. He is a current Member of Parliament serving the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock....
(Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. Its population in 2001 was 111,343...
), Ed Holder
Ed Holder
Edwin A. Holder is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the electoral district of London West in the 2008 Canadian federal election. He is a member of the Conservative Party.-Electoral record:...
(London West
London West
London West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. Its population in 2006 was 118,335.-Geography:The district includes the northwest part of the City of London....
), Lee Richardson
Lee Richardson
Lee Richardson is a Canadian politician. He is a member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Calgary Centre for the Conservative Party of Canada. He was first elected to parliament in the 1988 election as a Progressive Conservative representing the riding of Calgary...
(Calgary Centre
Calgary Centre
Calgary Centre is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. It is an 42 km² riding in the city of Calgary with 124,197 people. The riding consists of many young adults who have a relatively high average household income...
), Bruce Stanton
Bruce Stanton
Ronald Bruce Stanton is a Canadian politician and the current Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe North. He ran as a member of the Conservative Party in the 2006 federal election and won with 40.44% of the vote. Prior to being elected, he ran a family tourism business on Sparrow Lake...
(Simcoe North
Simcoe North
Simcoe North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867. Its population was 119,400 in 2006.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 92.3% White, 5.9% Native Canadian...
), and Merv Tweed
Merv Tweed
Mervin C. Tweed, MP is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He currently sits as the Member of Parliament for Brandon—Souris. Prior to that he was a member of the Manitoba Legislature from 1995 to 2004, representing the constituency of Turtle Mountain.Tweed was born in Medora, Manitoba, and was...
(Brandon-Souris).
Opposition Speakers
The Speaker, according to the constitution, cannot vote unless his or her vote would break a tie, in which case convention dictates that he or she must vote so as to maintain the status quoStatus quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
, which includes voting confidence in the government. Because of this, the minority government can slightly weaken the opposition's power by electing an opposition speaker.
In 1957, when John George Diefenbaker took power with a minority Progressive Conservative government, he offered the Speaker's chair to Stanley Knowles
Stanley Knowles
Stanley Howard Knowles, PC, OC was a Canadian parliamentarian. Knowles represented the riding of Winnipeg North Centre from 1942 to 1958 on behalf of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and again from 1962 to 1984 representing the CCF's successor, the New Democratic Party .Knowles was widely...
of the opposition Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(the precursor to the NDP
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
), who declined the appointment. During the 1926 tenure of Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen, PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding...
's Conservative ministry, during the 1979 ministry of Progressive Conservative Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
. In the 39th Parliament
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
of Conservative Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, three opposition members, Peter Milliken
Peter Milliken
Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands as a...
, Diane Marleau
Diane Marleau
Diane Marleau, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She represented the riding of Sudbury in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 2008, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien...
and Marcel Proulx
Marcel Proulx
Marcel Proulx is a Canadian politician.Proulx is a former member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, having represented the riding of Hull—Aylmer from 1999 to 2011. Proulx is a former administrator, businessman, claim adjuster, and executive assistant...
, ran for Speaker with Milliken winning. So far, every Speaker from an opposition party has been a Liberal.
Impartiality
The Speaker is required to perform his office impartially, but does not resign from his or her party membership upon taking office, as is done in the United Kingdom. Speaker Lucien LamoureuxLucien Lamoureux
Lucien Lamoureux, PC, OC was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1966 to 1974...
decided to follow the custom of the Speaker of the British House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
and ran in the 1968 election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
as an independent. Both the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
agreed not to run candidates against him. The New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, however, declined to withdraw their candidate. Lamoureux was re-elected and continued to serve as Speaker. However, in the 1972 election
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
, the opposition parties did not come to an agreement and ran candidates against him. Lamoureux was again returned but future Speakers would not repeat his attempt to run as an independent. The opposition parties may have chosen not to follow the 1968 precedent because of how close the election was: it produced a Liberal minority government with just two more seats than the Conservatives.
Tie-breaking votes
On May 19, 2005, the Speaker was required to cast the tie-breaking vote during a confidence measure for the first time in Canadian history. Faced with the defeat of Paul MartinPaul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, Milliken voted in favour of the NDP budget amendment. Despite popular belief that the Speaker, as a Liberal MP, would automatically support the government, his vote was pre-determined by other factors. As Speaker, Milliken's vote must be cast to allow the continuation of debate, or to maintain the status quo. Thus, the Speaker voted in favour of second reading, "to allow the House time for further debate so that it can make its own decision at some future time." The bill would later pass third reading without the need for Milliken's vote.
Speakers have only needed to vote in order to break a tie 11 times in Canadian parliamentary history. Milliken has done so on 6 occasions, more than all previous Speakers combined.
Deputy Speaker
In addition to the Speaker, a Deputy Speaker, also known as the Chair of Committees of the Whole or "Chair of Committees", is elected at the beginning of each parliament to act in place of the Speaker when the latter is unavailable. Under the Standing Orders, the Speaker, after consulting with each of the party leaders, nominates a candidate for Deputy Speaker to the House, which then votes on that nomination. The Deputy Speaker presides over daily sessions of the House when the Speaker is not in the chair. The Deputy Speaker also chairs the House when it sits as a Committee of the Whole. Other presiding officers, the Deputy Chair of Committees and the Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees, are chosen each session to occupy the chair when the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are not available. The Deputy speaker and the other presiding officers are members of the Panel of Chairs, and can therefore be selected by the Speaker to chair legislative committees. Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker has a role in administering the House.The Deputy Speaker for the 41st Parliament is Denise Savoie
Denise Savoie
Denise Savoie is a Canadian politician, currently serving as the federal Member of Parliament for Victoria. She was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2006 federal election as a candidate of the New Democratic Party....
(NDP
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
), and the other two presiding officers for the first session are Deputy Chair Barry Devolin
Barry Devolin
Barry Devolin, MP is a Canadian politician. He is a current Member of Parliament serving the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock....
(Conservative) and Assistant Deputy Chair Bruce Stanton
Bruce Stanton
Ronald Bruce Stanton is a Canadian politician and the current Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe North. He ran as a member of the Conservative Party in the 2006 federal election and won with 40.44% of the vote. Prior to being elected, he ran a family tourism business on Sparrow Lake...
(Conservative).
Counterparts
The Speaker's counterpart in the upper house is the Speaker of the Canadian SenateSpeaker of the Canadian Senate
The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary privilege, and oversee debates and voting in the red chamber. This position is often...
. Canadian provincial and territorial legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
s also have Speakers with much the same roles.
The position was preceded by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
A List of the Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, 1841-1866# Austin Cuvillier - 1841-1843# Allan Napier MacNab - 1844-1847# Augustin-Norbert Morin - 1848-1851# John Sandfield Macdonald - 1852-1854...
.
List of Speakers of the House of Commons
| Speaker | |Tenure | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Cockburn | November 6, 1867 | March 5, 1874 | Conservative | |
| Timothy Warren Anglin | March 26, 1874 | February 12, 1879 | Liberal | |
| Joseph Godéric Blanchet | February 13, 1879 | February 7, 1883 | Liberal-Conservative | |
| George Airey Kirkpatrick George Airey Kirkpatrick Sir George Airey Kirkpatrick, was a politician from Ontario, Canada.Born in 1841 in Kingston, Ontario, the son of Thomas Kirkpatrick, George Kirkpatrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.-Career:... |
February 8, 1883 | July 12, 1887 | Conservative | |
| Joseph-Aldéric Ouimet | July 13, 1887 | July 28, 1891 | Liberal-Conservative | |
| Peter White | July 29, 1891 | August 18, 1896 | Conservative | |
| James David Edgar James David Edgar Sir James David Edgar, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician.In his twenties, Edgar was a law student, legal editor of the Toronto Globe, an alderman on Toronto's city council, and an organizer for the Liberal Party in Ontario. He was also rare among English Canadians of the time for his sympathy for... |
August 19, 1896 | July 31, 1899 | Liberal | |
| Thomas Bain Thomas Bain Thomas Bain was a Canadian parliamentarian.Bain was born in Scotland, the son of Walter Bain, and migrated to Canada with his family when he was three years old. They settled on a bush farm in Wentworth County near Hamilton, Ontario.He was elected to the County Council in the 1860s and became... |
August 1, 1899 | February 5, 1901 | Liberal | |
| Louis Philippe Brodeur | February 6, 1901 | January 18, 1904 | Liberal | |
| Napoléon Antoine Belcourt | March 10, 1904 | January 10, 1905 | Liberal | |
| Robert Franklin Sutherland Robert Franklin Sutherland Robert Franklin Sutherland, PC was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1905 to 1909, noted for his fine speaking ability and strong temperament.... |
January 11, 1905 | January 19, 1909 | Liberal | |
| Charles Marcil Charles Marcil Charles Marcil, PC was a long time member of the Canadian House of Commons and served as Speaker of the House from 1909 - 1911.... |
January 20, 1909 | November 14, 1911 | Liberal | |
| Thomas Simpson Sproule Thomas Simpson Sproule Thomas Simpson Sproule was a Canadian parliamentarian, Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1911–1915, and a member of the Canadian Senate from 1915–1917.-Early life and education:... |
November 15, 1911 | December 2, 1915 | Conservative | |
| Albert Sévigny Albert Sévigny Albert Sévigny, PC was a Canadian politician.Sévigny opened a law practice in Quebec City in 1905. Two years later, he was a candidate for the Quebec Conservative Party in a provincial by-election, but was defeated. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1911 federal election... |
January 12, 1916 | January 7, 1917 | Conservative | |
| Edgar Nelson Rhodes Edgar Nelson Rhodes Edgar Nelson Rhodes, was a Canadian parliamentarian from Nova Scotia.Rhodes was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1908 as a member of the Conservative Party... |
January 18, 1917 | March 5, 1922 | Conservative | |
| Rodolphe Lemieux Rodolphe Lemieux Rodolphe Lemieux, PC, FRSC was a Canadian parliamentarian and long time Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons .... |
March 8, 1922 | June 2, 1930 | Liberal | |
| George Black | September 8, 1930 | January 16, 1935 | Conservative | |
| James Langstaff Bowman James Langstaff Bowman James Langstaff Bowman, PC was the first Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from Manitoba.Bowman had been a teacher and lawyer in Dauphin, Manitoba. In 1917, he became the town's mayor. He ran unsuccessfully in the 1925 and 1926 general elections for the Conservative Party. He finally... |
January 17, 1935 | February 5, 1936 | Conservative | |
| Pierre-François Casgrain Pierre-François Casgrain Pierre-François Casgrain, PC was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1936 to 1940.... |
February 6, 1936 | May 10, 1940 | Liberal | |
| James Allison Glen James Allison Glen James Allison Glen, PC was a Canadian parliamentarian and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1940 to 1945.... |
May 16, 1940 | September 5, 1945 | Liberal | |
| Gaspard Fauteux | September 6, 1945 | September 14, 1949 | Liberal | |
| William Ross Macdonald William Ross Macdonald William Ross Macdonald, PC, OC, CD, QC , served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1968 to 1974, and as Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1949 to 1953.- Early life :... |
September 15, 1949 | June 11, 1953 | Liberal | |
| Louis-René Beaudoin Louis-René Beaudoin Louis-René Beaudoin, PC was Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1957.Though trained as a lawyer, Beaudoin came from a working class background and financed his education by working as a bus driver and labourer... |
November 12, 1953 | October 13, 1957 | Liberal | |
| Roland Michener Roland Michener Daniel Roland Michener , commonly known as Roland Michener, was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 20th since Canadian Confederation.... |
October 14, 1957 | September 26, 1962 | Progressive Conservative | |
| Marcel Lambert Marcel Lambert Marcel Joseph Aimé Lambert, was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons .Lambert was born in Edmonton to a French-Canadian father and a Belgian mother... |
September 27, 1962 | May 15, 1963 | Progressive Conservative | |
| Alan Macnaughton Alan Macnaughton Alan Aylesworth Macnaughton, PC, OC, QC was a Canadian parliamentarian and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1963 to 1966.Macnaughton was born in Napanee, Ontario, and educated at Upper Canada College... |
May 16, 1963 | January 17, 1966 | Liberal | |
| Lucien Lamoureux Lucien Lamoureux Lucien Lamoureux, PC, OC was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1966 to 1974... |
January 18, 1966 | September 29, 1974 | Liberal/Independent++ | |
| James Alexander Jerome | September 30, 1974 | December 14, 1979 | Liberal | |
| Jeanne Sauvé Jeanne Sauvé Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé was a Canadian journalist, politician, and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 23rd since Canadian Confederation.... |
April 14, 1980 | January 15, 1984 | Liberal | |
| Cyril Lloyd Francis Cyril Lloyd Francis Cyril Lloyd Francis, PC was a Canadian politician and one time Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons... |
January 16, 1984 | November 4, 1984 | Liberal | |
| John William Bosley | November 5, 1984 | September 29, 1986 | Progressive Conservative | |
| John Allen Fraser John Allen Fraser John Allen Fraser, PC, OC, OBC, CD, QC is a retired Canadian parliamentarian and former Speaker of the House of Commons.... |
September 30, 1986 | January 16, 1994 | Progressive Conservative | |
| Gilbert Parent Gilbert Parent Gilbert "Gib" Parent, PC was a Canadian Member of Parliament. He is best known in his role of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons between 1994 and 2001.... |
January 17, 1994 | January 28, 2001 | Liberal | |
| Peter Milliken Peter Milliken Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands as a... |
January 29, 2001 | June 2, 2011 | Liberal | |
| Andrew Scheer Andrew Scheer Andrew Scheer is a Canadian Member of Parliament and the Speaker of the House of Commons. At the age of 32, he is the youngest person to serve in this capacity in Canadian parliamentarian history.-Early life and career:... |
June 2, 2011 | Incumbent | Conservative |
++Lamoureaux emulated the tradition of the Speaker of the British House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
and ran for re-election as an Independent MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the 1968 and 1972 general elections.
External links
- Parliamentary Library of Canada - contains biographies of all of Canada's speakers and information on the historical development and current role of the position.