Appendix 3: Deputy Speakers and Chairs of Committees of the Whole Since 1885^*

The position of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole was created through amendments to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons adopted on February 10, 1885, and through the adoption of legislation which was assented to on May 1, 1885. The Statute was entitled An Act to provide for the appointment of a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, SC 1885, c 1. The Standing Orders require the House to elect, from among its Members, a Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole at the commencement of every Parliament. The same person performs the duties of both offices and must have full and practical knowledge of the official language which is not that of the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker is vested with all the powers of the Speaker when the latter is absent from the House, presides over the proceedings of the House, and is responsible for chairing Committees of the Whole House.

Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole (Party)	Date(s) of Appointment	Parliament(s) (Years)
1. Malachy B. Daly¹ (Liberal-Conservative)	February 10, 1885	3rd–4th Session, 5th Parliament (1885–87)
2. Charles Carroll Colby² (Liberal-Conservative)	May 11, 1887	1st–3rd Session, 6th Parliament (1887–89)
3. John F. Wood (Conservative)	January 21, 1890	4th Session, 6th Parliament (1890–91)
4. J.G.H. Bergeron (Liberal-Conservative)	May 22, 1891	7th Parliament (1891–96)
5. Louis-Philippe Brodeur³ (Liberal)	August 27, 1896	8th Parliament (1896–1900)
6. Peter Macdonald (Liberal)	February 11, 1901	9th Parliament (1901–04)
7. Charles Marcil⁴ (Liberal)	January 16, 1905	10th Parliament (1905–08)
8. Gilbert H. McIntyre (Liberal)	January 25, 1909	11th Parliament (1909–11)
9. Pierre-Édouard Blondin⁵ (Conservative)	November 29, 1911	1st–4th Session, 12th Parliament (1911–14)
10. Albert Sévigny⁶ (Conservative)	February 9, 1915	5th Session, 12th Parliament (1915)
11. Edgar Nelson Rhodes⁷ (Liberal-Conservative)	February 3, 1916	6th Session, 12th Parliament (1916)
12. Joseph H. Rainville (Conservative)	February 1, 1917	7th Session, 12th Parliament (1917)
13. George Henry Boivin⁸ (Liberal)	March 21, 1918	13th Parliament (1918–21)
14. George N. Gordon (Liberal)	March 24, 1922	14th Parliament (1922–25)
15. William Duff (Liberal)	March 16, 1926	15th Parliament (1926)
16. John Frederick Johnston (Liberal)	December 14, 1926	16th Parliament (1926–30)
17. Armand LaVergne⁹ (Liberal-Conservative)	September 9, 1930	1st–6th Session, 17th Parliament (1930–35)
18. Raymond Morand (Conservative)	March 11, 1935	6th Session, 17th Parliament (1935)
19. Frederick George Sanderson (Liberal)	February 13, 1936	18th Parliament (1936–40)
20. Thomas Vien¹⁰ (Liberal)	May 21, 1940	1st–3rd Session, 19th Parliament (1940–42)
21. Joseph Arthur Bradette (Liberal)	February 25, 1943	4th–6th Session, 19th Parliament (1943–45)
22. William Ross Macdonald¹¹ (Liberal)	September 27, 1945	20th Parliament (1945–49)
23. Joseph Alfred Dion¹² (Liberal)	September 15, 1949	1st–6th Session, 21st Parliament (1949–52)
24. Louis-René Beaudoin¹³ (Liberal)	April 9, 1952	6th–7th Session, 21st Parliament (1952–53)
25. William Alfred Robinson (Liberal)	November 12, 1953	22nd Parliament (1953–57)
26. Henri Courtemanche (Progressive Conservative)	October 14, 1957	23rd Parliament (1957–58)
27. Pierre Sévigny¹⁴ (Progressive Conservative)	May 12, 1958	1st–2nd Session, 24th Parliament (1958–59)
28. Jacques Flynn¹⁵ (Progressive Conservative)	January 14, 1960	3rd–4th Session, 24th Parliament (1960–61)
29. Paul Martineau¹⁶ (Progressive Conservative)	January 18, 1962	5th Session, 24th Parliament (1962)
30. Gordon Campbell Chown (Progressive Conservative)	September 27, 1962	25th Parliament (1962–63)
31. Lucien Lamoureux¹⁷ (Liberal)	May 16, 1963	26th Parliament (1963–65)
32. Herman Maxwell Batten (Liberal)	January 18, 1966	27th Parliament (1966–68)
33. Hugh Faulkner¹⁸ (Liberal)	September 12, 1968	1st–2nd Session, 28th Parliament (1968–70)
34. Russell C. Honey (Liberal)	October 5, 1970	2nd–4th Session, 28th Parliament (1970–72)
35. Robert McCleave¹⁹ (Progressive Conservative)	January 4, 1973	29th Parliament (1973–74)
36. Gérald Laniel²⁰ (Liberal)	September 30, 1974 October 9, 1979	30th Parliament (1974–79) 31st Parliament (1979)
37. Lloyd Francis²¹ (Liberal)	April 14, 1980	1st–2nd Session, 32nd Parliament (1980–84)
38. Eymard Corbin (Liberal)	January 16, 1984	2nd Session, 32nd Parliament (1984)
39. Marcel Danis²² (Progressive Conservative)	November 5, 1984 December 12, 1988	33rd Parliament (1984–88) 1st–2nd Session, 34th Parliament (1988–90)
40. Andrée Champagne²³ (Progressive Conservative)	May 15, 1990	2nd–3rd Session, 34th Parliament (1990–93)
41. David Kilgour (Liberal)	January 18, 1994	35th Parliament (1994–97)
42. Peter Milliken²⁴ (Liberal)	September 23, 1997	36th Parliament (1997–2000)
43. Robert (Bob) Kilger (Liberal)	January 30, 2001	37th Parliament (2001–04)
44. Charles (Chuck) Strahl²⁵ (Conservative)	October 5, 2004	38th Parliament (2004–05)
45. William Alexander (Bill) Blaikie (New Democrat)	April 5, 2006	39th Parliament (2006–08)
46. Andrew Scheer²⁶ (Conservative)	November 21, 2008	40th Parliament (2008–11)
47. Denise Savoie²⁷ (New Democrat)	June 6, 2011	1st Session, 41st Parliament (2011–12)
48. Joe Comartin (New Democrat)	September 17, 2012	1st–2nd Session, 41st Parliament (2012–15)
49. Bruce Stanton (Conservative)	December 4, 2015	42nd Parliament (2015– )

*: Effective March 2003, the term “Chair” replaced the term “Chairman” in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.
1.: Following the adoption of amendments to the Standing Orders on February 10, 1885, the House resolved that Malachy B. Daly take the Chair as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole.
2.: Charles Carroll Colby resigned as a Member, and thus as Deputy Speaker, between the Third and Fourth Sessions, upon his appointment as President of the Privy Council on November 28, 1889. Until 1931, Members of the House who accepted Cabinet positions were required, pursuant to the Senate and House of Commons Act, to resign their seats and seek re-election.
3.: Louis-Philippe Brodeur was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
4.: Charles Marcil was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
5.: Pierre-Édouard Blondin resigned as a Member, and thus as Deputy Speaker, between the Fourth and Fifth Sessions, upon his appointment as Minister of Inland Revenue on October 20, 1914.
6.: Albert Sévigny was elected Speaker on January 12, 1916.
7.: Edgar Nelson Rhodes was elected Speaker on January 18, 1917.
8.: George Henry Boivin, a Liberal Member, served under the Unionist Government of Sir Robert Borden.
9.: Armand LaVergne died in office on March 5, 1935.
10.: Thomas Vien was summoned to the Senate on October 5, 1942, and became Speaker of the Senate on January 23, 1943.
11.: William Ross Macdonald was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
12.: Joseph Alfred Dion was appointed as a judge and resigned his seat on April 9, 1952.
13.: Louis-René Beaudoin was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
14.: Pierre Sévigny was appointed Associate Minister of National Defence on August 20, 1959, during the recess.
15.: Jacques Flynn was appointed Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys on December 28, 1961, during the recess.
16.: The motion to appoint Paul Martineau was agreed to on a recorded division. This marked the first occasion that there was a recorded division on the appointment of a Deputy Speaker (Debates, January 18, 1962, pp. 5-6).
17.: Lucien Lamoureux was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
18.: Hugh Faulkner was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State on October 1, 1970.
19.: Robert McCleave, a Progressive Conservative Member, served under a Liberal government.
20.: Gérald Laniel, a Liberal Member, served under a Progressive Conservative government in the Thirty-First Parliament.
21.: Lloyd Francis was elected Speaker on January 16, 1984, during the Second Session of the Thirty-Second Parliament.
22.: Marcel Danis was appointed Minister of State (Youth) and Minister of State (Fitness and Amateur Sport) and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons on February 23, 1990. However, although he did not sit in the Chair following his appointment to the Cabinet, Mr. Danis remained Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole until his official resignation and the appointment to that position of Andrée Champagne on May 15, 1990.
23.: Andrée Champagne was the first woman to become Deputy Speaker.
24.: Peter Milliken was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
25.: Changes to the process for electing the Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole were implemented at the start of the Thirty-Eighth Parliament. The Speaker of the House, after consultation with the leaders of each of the officially recognized parties, announces the name of the Member he or she considers to be qualified for the position. The House then votes on the Speaker’s designation without debate or amendment. Charles (Chuck) Strahl was the first Deputy Speaker elected in this manner. A Conservative, he served under a minority Liberal government.
26.: Andrew Scheer was elected Speaker in the next Parliament.
27.: Denise Savoie resigned as a Member of Parliament, and thus as Deputy Speaker, on August 31, 2012.

For questions about parliamentary procedure, contact the Table Research Branch

613-996-3611

trbdrb@parl.gc.ca

Appendix 3: Deputy Speakers and Chairs of Committees of the Whole Since 1885*

For questions about parliamentary procedure, contact the Table Research Branch

Appendix 3: Deputy Speakers and Chairs of Committees of the Whole Since 1885^*