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The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the
lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, 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 co ...
of the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
. A
member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The
speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
's role in presiding over
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system. The 37th and current speaker of the House of Commons is
Anthony Rota Anthony Michael Gerard Rota (born May 15, 1961) is a Canadian politician who is the 37th and current speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, he currently serves as the member of Parliament (MP) for ...
, since December 5, 2019. The speaker with the longest tenure is
Peter Milliken Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken (born November 12, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 20 ...
who was elected for four consecutive terms lasting 10 years, 124 days.


Role

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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
. They are to rule over the house and have the government answer questions during the question period as well as keep decorum with the house. The speaker receives a salary of
CA$ The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style g ...
274,500 ($185,800 as an MP in addition to $88,700 as speaker) and has use of a small apartment, in the House of Commons, and an
official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...
, The Farm, an estate located at
Kingsmere Kingsmere is a community in Chelsea, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. It is within Gatineau Park and in the National Capital Region, near the capital Ottawa, Ontario. The Farm, the official ...
in
Gatineau Park Gatineau Park (french: Parc de la Gatineau) is a federal park located in the Outaouais, Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region, ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, across the river from
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. for the management of the House of Commons campus, and the 2,000 individuals who work there. In 2015 the speaker managed a budget of $414 million. Along with the Senate speaker, the speaker of the House is responsible for the
Parliamentary Protective Service The Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS; french: Service de protection parlementaire, ) is the office of the Parliament of Canada which provides physical security within the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa, Ontario. Policy direction is set ...
, which provides security to
Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...
with the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
(RCMP). The term "speaker" originates from the British parliamentary tradition. The French term now used in Canada is french: président, label=none (president, chairperson, or presiding officer); the term french: orateur, label=none'','' a
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. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
(literal translation) of "speaker" and formerly the term used in France for the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, was used until a few decades ago. The speaker and their deputies preside over debates of the House of Commons, invite particular members to speak, maintain order and decorum (including reproving members who misbehave), and make rulings on points of order and points of privilege. By parliamentary rule and tradition, all statements in the House are addressed to the speaker, never to another member. For example, one does not say, "Mr. Prime Minister, will you explain to this House...", or "Thank you for the question." Instead, one would say, "Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister explain to this House..." or "Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question." Members are not allowed to speak while the speaker is speaking, and must sit down when the speaker rises to speak. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as "Mr. Speaker," for a man, and "Madam Speaker", for a woman. Deputies of the speaker who are presiding at a given time are also addressed as "Mr./Madam Speaker."


Election

While the Constitution requires that the speaker be elected by the House of Commons, traditionally this amounted to the rubber-stamp approval of an MP nominated by the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. However, in 1986 this was changed and they are now selected by
secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...
. The speaker remains a sitting MP, but only votes on matters in the case of a tie. All MPs except for
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
ministers and party leaders are eligible to run for speaker. Any MP who does not wish to put their 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 The dean of the House is, in some legislatures, the member with the longest unbroken record of service. U.C. Mandal, ''Dictionary Of Public Administration'' (2007), p. 123. Specific examples include: * Dean of the United States House of Representa ...
, currently
Louis Plamondon Louis Plamondon (born July 31, 1943) is a Canadian politician who has represented Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel (formerly known as Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour and Richelieu) in the House of Commons since 1984, making him the Dean of ...
, 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 "Gib" Parent (July 25, 1935 – March 3, 2009) was a Canadian member of Parliament. He is best known in his role as speaker of the House of Commons of Canada between 1994 and 2001. Parent was born on July 25, 1935, in Mattawa, Ontario, ...
won over
Jean-Robert Gauthier Jean-Robert Gauthier, (October 22, 1929 – December 10, 2009) was a Canadian politician. A chiropractor by training, he entered politics as trustee on a local school board. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada to represent t ...
. 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 they are "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 Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the lead ...
(
Regina—Qu'Appelle Regina–Qu'Appelle (formerly Qu'Appelle) is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968 and since 1988. Geography The district includes the northeastern qu ...
) was elected speaker, defeating the following MPs over the course of six ballots: New Democrat
Denise Savoie Denise Savoie (; born November 21, 1943) is a Canadian politician, who served as the federal Member of Parliament for Victoria (electoral district), Victoria from 2006 until 2012 representing the New Democratic Party. She was elected to the Hous ...
(
Victoria (electoral district) Victoria is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1904 and since 1925. The riding was originally chartered as Victoria D ...
) and Conservatives
Dean Allison Dean Allison (born February 18, 1965, in London, Ontario) is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2004 federal election for the riding of Niagara West—Glanbrook, now Niagara West. Allison is a member ...
(
Niagara West—Glanbrook Niagara West—Glanbrook was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that existed from 2004 to 2015. The riding was created in 2003 from parts of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot, Erie—Lincoln, Hamilton Mountain, Niagara ...
),
Barry Devolin Barry Devolin, (born March 10, 1963) is a former Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada and an academic. Early life and education Devolin was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Peterborough and grew u ...
(
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock (formerly Haliburton—Victoria—Brock and Victoria—Haliburton) is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography ...
),
Ed Holder Edwin Anthony Holder (born July 14, 1954) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 64th mayor of London from 2018 to 2022.
(
London West London West (french: London-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in London, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district includes the northwest part of the City of London. I ...
), Lee Richardson (
Calgary Centre Calgary Centre (french: Calgary-Centre; formerly known as Calgary South Centre) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. The riding consists of many young ad ...
),
Bruce Stanton Ronald Bruce Stanton (born December 20, 1957) is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe North from 2006 to 2021. Stanton first ran as a member of the Conservative Party in the 2006 federal election an ...
(
Simcoe North Simcoe North (french: Simcoe-Nord) is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2011 Census''; 2013 representation'' Ethnic groups: 87.8% ...
), and
Merv Tweed Mervin C. Tweed, MP (born August 6, 1955 in Medora, Manitoba) is a retired politician in Manitoba, Canada. He represented Brandon—Souris in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to August 31, 2013. Prior to that he was a member of the Le ...
(
Brandon—Souris Brandon—Souris is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2011 Census'' Ethnic groups: 83.4% White, 9.8% Aboriginal, ...
). Scheer was the youngest Speaker in Canadian history. On December 2, 2015,
Geoff Regan Geoffrey Paul Regan (born 22 November 1959) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
was elected speaker by members of the 42nd Parliament over fellow Liberal candidates
Denis Paradis Denis Paradis (born April 1, 1949) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brome—Missisquoi from 2015 until 2019 and previously from 1995 to 2006. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Paradis ...
,
Yasmin Ratansi Yasmin Ratansi (born January 4, 1951) is a Canadian politician who represented the Toronto area riding of Don Valley East in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2021. She was elected as a Liberal in the 2004 federal ele ...
and Conservative
Bruce Stanton Ronald Bruce Stanton (born December 20, 1957) is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe North from 2006 to 2021. Stanton first ran as a member of the Conservative Party in the 2006 federal election an ...
. Regan won on the first ballot and is the first speaker from Atlantic Canada in nearly a hundred years since Nova Scotian
Edgar Nelson Rhodes Edgar Nelson Rhodes, (January 5, 1877 – March 15, 1942), was a Canadian Member of Parliament (Canada), parliamentarian from Nova Scotia who served as Premier of Nova Scotia from 1925 to 1930. He was first elected to the House of Commons ...
in 1922.
Anthony Rota Anthony Michael Gerard Rota (born May 15, 1961) is a Canadian politician who is the 37th and current speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, he currently serves as the member of Parliament (MP) for ...
was elected as 37th speaker on December 5, 2019, by winning a ranked ballot between himself,
Joël Godin Joël Godin (born March 14, 1965) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 election from the district of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. He is a former municipal councillor in Saint-Joachim, Quebec ...
, Carol Hughes,
Geoff Regan Geoffrey Paul Regan (born 22 November 1959) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
(the speaker during the previous Parliament), and
Bruce Stanton Ronald Bruce Stanton (born December 20, 1957) is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe North from 2006 to 2021. Stanton first ran as a member of the Conservative Party in the 2006 federal election an ...
. Following Rota's win, the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
said that he had them to thank for his new election, after they decided in a Conservative caucus meeting to unseat Regan as a show of strength to the Liberal minority government. They did so by ranking Regan further down on the ranked ballot.


Opposition speakers

The speaker usually comes from among MPs of the governing party. But because they cannot vote unless their vote would break a tie and by convention must vote to maintain the
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
(which includes voting confidence in the government), a minority government can slightly weaken the opposition's power by electing an opposition speaker. Speakers have been elected from opposition parties during the 1926 tenure of
Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen (; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and fro ...
's Conservative ministry, the 1979 ministry of Progressive Conservative
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
, and
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
's Conservative Ministry from 2006 to 2011. In the 39th Parliament, three opposition members,
Peter Milliken Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken (born November 12, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 20 ...
, Diane Marleau and
Marcel Proulx Marcel Proulx (; born 6 March 1946 in L'Orignal, Ontario) is a retired Canadian politician. Proulx is a former member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the House of Commons of Canada, having represented the riding of Hull—Aylmer from 19 ...
, ran for speaker. In 1957, when
John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...
took power with a minority Progressive Conservative government, he offered the speaker's chair to
Stanley Knowles Stanley Howard Knowles (June 18, 1908 – June 9, 1997) was a Canadian parliamentarian. Knowles represented the riding of Winnipeg North Centre from 1942 to 1958 on behalf of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and again from 1 ...
of the opposition
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
– the precursor to the New Democratic Party (NDP) – who declined. So far, every speaker from an opposition party has been a Liberal.


Impartiality

The speaker is required to perform their office impartially, but does not resign from their party membership upon taking office, as is done in the United Kingdom. Speaker
Lucien Lamoureux Lucien Lamoureux, (August 3, 1920 – July 16, 1998) was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1966 to 1974. He is the second longest-serving occupant of that office. After graduating with a law degree f ...
decided to follow the custom of the
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
of the United Kingdom 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 The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
, 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 no subsequent speakers have repeated 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, Speaker
Peter Milliken Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken (born November 12, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 20 ...
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 Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
's
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
, 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, a reflection of
Speaker Denison's rule Speaker Denison's rule is a constitutional convention established by John Evelyn Denison, who was Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1857 to 1872, regarding how the Speaker decides on their casting vote in the event of a tie in the ...
practiced in the British House of Commons. Thus, the speaker voted in favour of
second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...
, "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 did so on five occasions, almost 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,) 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 of the
44th Canadian Parliament The 44th Canadian Parliament is the session of the Parliament of Canada which began on 22 November 2021, with the membership of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, having been determined by the results of the 2021 Canadian federal ...
was Chris d'Entremont (Conservative); and the assistant deputy speaker was Carol Hughes (NDP). The Chair of Committees is vested by Subsection 43(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act with full and adequate authority to address matters in the titular Speaker's absence: "Whenever the House of Commons is informed of the unavoidable absence of the Speaker thereof by the Clerk at the table, the Chairman of Committees, if present, shall take the chair and perform the duties and exercise the authority of Speaker in relation to all the proceedings of the House, as Deputy Speaker."


Retirement

Most former speakers retire from Parliament after their tenure as speaker, sometimes after returning to the
backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
for a period. Several have been appointed to diplomatic positions, summoned to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, or appointed to a vice-regal position such as
lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
of a province or, in two cases,
governor general of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
(
Roland Michener Daniel Roland Michener (April 19, 1900 – August 6, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 20th since Canadian Confederation. Michener was born and educated in Alberta. In 1917 he se ...
and
Jeanne Sauvé Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé (; April 26, 1922 – January 26, 1993) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as Governor General of Canada, the 23rd since Canadian Confederation. Sauvé was born in Prud'homme, Saskatchewan, and educate ...
). While several former Cabinet ministers have served as speaker or stood for the position, no former speakers have subsequently been appointed to Cabinet. One speaker,
Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the lead ...
, has gone on to assume a
front bench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...
position in the House of Commons: Scheer became leader of the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and served as
leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from 2017 to 2020.


Honorary Speaker

On March 9, 2016 Liberal MP
Mauril Bélanger Mauril Adrien Jules Bélanger (June 15, 1955 – August 15, 2016) was a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he represented Ottawa—Vanier in the House of Commons through a by-election victory in 1995 until his death ...
served as honorary speaker for about an hour to honour his years of service. Speaker Regan resumed his duties for the remainder of the sitting of the House. Mauril Bélanger had initially been considered a front runner for the post of Speaker the previous year, but had withdrawn due to his being diagnosed with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
. Bélanger died on August 15, 2016, five months after being named honorary speaker.


Counterparts

The speaker's counterpart in the
upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
is the
speaker of the Senate of Canada The speaker of the Senate of Canada (french: président du Sénat du 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 parliamentar ...
. Canadian provincial and territorial
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
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 The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...
.


List of speakers of the House of Commons

Key:


References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite news , url = https://torontosun.com/news/national/speaker-geoff-regan-opens-door-to-secret-apartment-in-parliament/wcm/421da828-ee47-4228-9266-cdd1384f09ee , title = Speaker Geoff Regan opens door to secret apartment in Parliament , work =
Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
, date = December 16, 2018 , access-date = December 16, 2018 , quote = One of the best-kept secrets inside the main building on Parliament Hill — known as Centre Block — is what’s inside room 202N.
{{cite news , url = https://ottawamagazine.com/people-and-places/society/farewell-peter-milliken/ , title = Farewell to Peter Milliken , work =
Ottawa magazine Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and f ...
, date = March 25, 2011 , access-date = December 16, 2018 , quote = There are benefits for the 61-year-old bachelor to being Speaker: he has a small apartment just down the hall from his spacious offices and a grand official residence in Gatineau Park (the Farm), across the Ottawa River in Quebec.
{{cite news , url = https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/11/27/andrew-scheer-speaker-house-commons_n_8665202.html , title = Andrew Scheer, Outgoing House Speaker, Reflects On Pressures, Perks Of Coveted Job , work =
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
, author = Althia Raj , author-link = Althia Raj , date = November 27, 2015 , access-date = December 16, 2018 , quote = He or she is responsible for the administration of the Commons, the staff, the precinct's security, printing and postal services, and providing MPs funds and resources to do their job — an office that comes with an approximately $414 million budget.
{{cite news , url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=67&v=Y_3Z0U6XdBo , title = Take a look at the Speakers secret Parliament apartment... , work =
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, author = Melanie Marquis, Ben Singer , date = December 16, 2018 , access-date = December 16, 2018
{{cite news , url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TETZ6bYG5Hc , title = Peter Miliken Speaker Of The House Canada Parliament Ottawa Brent Holland Show , work =
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, author = Brent Holland , date = October 17, 2014 , access-date = December 16, 2018


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. Government of Canada * Westminster system