Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons

Categories: Government of Canada | Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons | Westminster System | Chair of lower house

In Canada the Speaker of the House of Commons (French: Président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house and is elected by fellow MPs. The Speaker's role in Canada 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 Ontario Liberal MP Peter Milliken.

The Job

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 $209,000 (Cdn) and has use of the official residence, the Kingsmere estate outside Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa.

Election

Traditionally in Canada the Speaker was appointed by the Prime Minister, but 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.

Post-Election Procedures

After an election by secret ballot, the speaker pretends to not want to accept the post, and is thus dragged to the chair, usually by the Prime Minister and the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The tradition is borrowed from Britain, where speakers of the House once ran the risk of losing their heads to irritated regents.

Deputy Speaker

In addition to the Speaker, Deputy Speakers are nominated to act on behalf of the Speaker when he or she is unavailable. From the Speaker of the House of Commons website:

The primary roles of the Deputy Speaker and the other Presiding Officers are to support the Speaker in the Chamber in presiding over the business of the House, to take the Chair when the House sits as a Committee of the Whole and, on occasion, to chair legislative committees. In addition, the Deputy Speaker has certain administrative responsibilities. The Deputy Speaker usually serves on the Board of Internal Economy and is a member of the Executive Committee. When the House forms itself into a Committee of the Whole, it is the duty of the Chairman of Committees of the Whole to take the Chair. [1]

The current Deputy Speakers are Chuck Strahl (Conservative), Marcel Proulx (Liberal) and Jean Augustine (Liberal).

List of Federal Speakers

1. James Cockburn - June 11, 1867 - March 5, 1874 Conservative
2. Timothy Warren Anglin - March 26, 1874 - February 12, 1879 Liberal
3. Joseph Godéric Blanchet - February 13, 1879 - February 7, 1883 Liberal-Conservative
4. George Airey Kirkpatrick - February 8, 1883 - July 12, 1887 Conservative
5. Joseph-Aldéric Ouimet - July 13, 1887 - July 28, 1891 Conservative
6. Peter White - July 29, 1891 - August 18, 1896 Conservative
7. James David Edgar - August 19, 1896 - July 31, 1899 Liberal
8. Thomas Bain - August 1, 1899 - February 5, 1901 Liberal
9. Louis Philippe Brodeur - February 6, 1901 - January 18, 1904 Liberal
10. Napoléon Antoine Belcourt - March 10, 1904 - January 10, 1905 Liberal
11. Robert Franklin Sutherland - January 11, 1905 - January 19, 1909 Liberal
12. Charles Marcil - January 20, 1909 - November 14, 1911 Liberal
13. Thomas Simpson Sproule - November 15, 1911 - December 2, 1915
14. Albert Sévigny - January 12, 1916 - January 7, 1917 Conservative
15. Edgar Nelson Rhodes - January 18, 1917 - March 5, 1922 Conservative
16. Rodolphe Lemieux - March 8, 1922 - June 2, 1930 Liberal
17. George Black - September 8, 1930 - January 16, 1935 Conservative
18. James Langstaff Bowman - January 17, 1935 - February 5, 1936 Conservative
19. Pierre-François Casgrain - February 6, 1936 - May 10, 1940 Liberal
20. James Allison Glen - May 16, 1940 - September 5, 1945 Liberal
21. Gaspard Fauteux - September 6, 1945 - September 14, 1949 Liberal
22. William Ross Macdonald - September 15, 1949 - June 11, 1953 Liberal
23. Louis-René Beaudoin - November 12, 1953 - October 13, 1957 Liberal
24. Roland Michener - October 14, 1957 - September 26, 1962 Progressive Conservative
25. Marcel Lambert - September 27, 1962 - May 15, 1963 Progressive Conservative
26. Alan Macnaughton - May 16, 1963 - January 17, 1966 Liberal
27. Lucien Lamoureux - January 18, 1966 - September 29, 1974 Liberal/Independent++
28. James Alexander Jerome - September 30, 1974 - December 14, 1979 Liberal
29. Jeanne Sauvé - April 14, 1980 - January 15, 1984 Liberal
30. Cyril Lloyd Francis - January 16, 1984 - November 4, 1984 Liberal
31. John William Bosley - November 5, 1984 - September 29, 1986 Progressive Conservative
32. John Allen Fraser - September 30, 1986 - January 16, 1994 Progressive Conservative
33. Gilbert Parent - January 17, 1994 - January 28, 2001 Liberal
34. Peter Milliken - January 29, 2001 - present Liberal

++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.

Counterparts

The Speaker's counterpart in the upper house is the Speaker of the Canadian Senate. Canadian provincial and territorial legislatures also have Speakers with much the same roles.

Tie-Breaking Votes

On Thursday, 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 Martin'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 already pre-determined. 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.

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.pt:Orador da Casa dos Comuns do Canadá