25. Appendices

Speakers of the House of Commons Since 1867

The Speaker of the House of Commons assumes the position of highest authority in the House, and represents the Commons in all its powers, proceedings and dignity.  The duties of the Speaker fall into three categories: 1) acting as the spokesperson of the House; 2) presiding over sittings of the House and maintaining order and decorum; and 3) assuming important administrative responsibilities.  Provisions for the Speakership are defined in the Constitution Act, 1867, in the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S.C. 1985, and in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.  The election of the Speaker by the House is a constitutional requirement.  At the beginning of every Parliament, the House must elect a Speaker from amongst its Members.  From Confederation until 1985, Speakers were elected by way of motion usually initiated by the Prime Minister.  Provisional rules adopted in June 1985, and made permanent in June 1987, have since provided for the election of the Speaker by secret ballot.

	Speaker (Party)	Date of Election as Speaker	Parliament (Years)
	1. James Cockburn (Conservative)	November 6, 1867	1st Parliament (1867-72)
		March 5, 1873	2nd Parliament (1873-74)
	2. Timothy Warren Anglin [1] (Liberal)	March 26, 1874	1st Session, 3rd Parliament to 4th Session, 3rd Parliament (1874-77)
		February 7, 1878	5th Session, 3rd Parliament (1878)
	3. Joseph-Godéric Blanchet (Liberal-Conservative)	February 13, 1879	4th Parliament (1879-82)
	4. George Airey Kirkpatrick (Liberal-Conservative)	February 8, 1883	5th Parliament (1883-87)
	5. Joseph-Aldéric Ouimet (Liberal-Conservative)	April 13, 1887	6th Parliament (1887-91)
	6. Peter White (Conservative)	April 29, 1891	7th Parliament (1891-96)
	7. James David Edgar [2] (Liberal)	August 19, 1896	1st Session, 8th Parliament to 4th Session, 8th Parliament (1896-99)
	8. Thomas Bain (Liberal)	August 1, 1899	4th Session, 8th Parliament to 5th Session, 8th Parliament (1899-1900)
	9. Louis-Philippe Brodeur [3] (Liberal)	February 6, 1901	1st Session, 9th Parliament to 3rd Session, 9th Parliament (1901-04)
	10. Napoléon-Antoine Belcourt (Liberal)	March 10, 1904	4th Session, 9th Parliament (1904)
	11. Robert Frankli Sutherland (Liberal)	January 11, 1905	10th Parliament (1905-08)
	12. Charles Marcil (Liberal)	January 20, 1909	11th Parliament (1909-11)
	13. Thomas Simpson Sproule [4] (Conservative)	November 15, 1911	1st Session, 12th Parliament to 5th Session, 12th Parliament (1911-15)
	14. Albert Sévigny [5] (Conservative)	January 12, 1916	6th Session, 12th Parliament (1916-17)
	15. Edgar Nelson Rhodes (Conservative)	January 18, 1917	7th Session, 12th Parliament (1917)
		March 18, 1918	13th Parliament (1918-21)
	16. Rodolphe Lemieux [6] (Liberal)	March 8, 1922	14th Parliament (1922-25)
		January 7, 1926	15th Parliament (1926)
		December 9, 1926	16th Parliament (1926-30)
	17. George Black [7] (Conservative)	September 8, 1930	1st Session, 17th Parliament to 5th Session, 17th Parliament (1930-35)
	18. James Langstaff Bowman (Conservative)	January 17, 1935	6th Session, 17th Parliament (1935)
	19. Pierre-François Casgrain [8] (Liberal)	February 6, 1936	18th Parliament (1936-40)
	20. James Glen (Liberal)	May 16, 1940	19th Parliament (1940-45)
	21. Gaspard Fauteux (Liberal)	September 6, 1945	20th Parliament (1945-49)
	22. William Ross Macdonald [9] (Liberal)	September 15, 1949	21st Parliament (1949-53)
	23. Louis-René Beaudoin [10] (Liberal)	November 12, 1953	22nd Parliament (1953-57)
	24. Roland Michener (Progressive Conservative)	October 14, 1957	23rd Parliament (1957-58)
		May 12, 1958	24th Parliament (1958-62)
	25. Marcel Lambert (Progressive Conservative)	September 27, 1962	25th Parliament (1962-63)
	26. Alan Macnaughton (Liberal)	May 16, 1963	26th Parliament (1963-65)
	27. Lucien Lamoureux [11] (Liberal)	January 18, 1966	27th Parliament (1966-68)
		September 12, 1968	28th Parliament (1968-72)
		January 4, 1973	29th Parliament (1973-74)
	28. James Jerome [12] (Liberal)	September 30, 1974	30th Parliament (1974-79)
		October 9, 1979	31st Parliament (1979)
	29. Jeanne Sauvé [13] (Liberal)	April 14, 1980	1st Session, 32nd Parliament to 2nd Session, 32nd Parliament (1980-84)
	30. Lloyd Francis (Liberal)	January 16, 1984	2nd Session, 32nd Parliament (1984)
	31. John Bosley [14] (Progressive Conservative)	November 5, 1984	1st Session, 33rd Parliament to 2nd Session, 33rd Parliament (1984-86)
	32. John Fraser [15] (Progressive Conservative)	September 30, 1986	2nd Session, 33rd Parliament (1986-88)
		December 12, 1988	34th Parliament (1988-93)
	33. Gilbert Parent [16] (Liberal)	January 17, 1994	35th Parliament (1994-97)
		September 22, 1997	36th Parliament (1997-2000)
	34. Peter Milliken [17] (Liberal)	January 29, 2001	37th Parliament (2001-04)
		October 4, 2004	38th Parliament (2004-05)

[1]

On April 28, 1877, the last sitting day of the Fourth Session of the Third Parliament, the Select Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections tabled a report in the House of Commons stating its view that Speaker Anglin had, because of certain commercial dealings with the Government, violated the Independence of Parliament Act and thus his election was void.  Although the report was never adopted, during the recess, Mr. Anglin resigned his seat, and thus the Speakership, and was re-elected in a by-election.  On the opening of the final session of the Third Parliament, Prime Minister Mackenzie renominated Mr. Anglin who was elected as Speaker although the opposition challenged his eligibility and forced a recorded vote on the question. (Debates, February 7, 1878, pp. 1-12.)

[2]

Speaker Edgar died in office on July 31, 1899.

[3]

Speaker Brodeur resigned as a Member, and thus the Speakership, on January 19, 1904 to become Minister of Inland Revenue.  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.

[4]

Speaker Sproule was summoned to the Senate on December 3, 1915 during the recess.

[5]

Speaker Sévigny resigned as a Member, and thus the Speakership, on January 8, 1917, during the recess, to become Minister of Inland Revenue.

[6]

Speaker Lemieux, elected as a Liberal, continued to serve as Speaker during the Conservative government of Prime Minister Arthur Meighen which had replaced the government of Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King on June 29, 1926, during the Fifteenth Parliament.

[7]

On January 17, 1935, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett announced to the House that Speaker Black had resigned due to illness.

[8]

Speaker Casgrain was the second Speaker not to have his nomination supported by the entire House.  The motion was agreed to, on division.  (Journals, February 6, 1936, p. 8)

[9]

Speaker Macdonald was appointed to the Senate on June 12, 1953.

[10]

The motion to nominate Speaker Beaudoin to the Chair was seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, George A. Drew.  This marked the first time that anyone other than a Cabinet Minister had seconded the nomination of the Speaker.

[11]

Speaker Lamoureux resigned his party affiliation and sought and won election to the House of Commons as an independent candidate in the general elections held on June 25, 1968 and October 30, 1972.

[12]

The election of Speaker Jerome to a second term following the general election of May 22, 1979 marked the first time a Member of an opposition party had been nominated by the governing party to preside over the House of Commons.

[13]

Speaker Sauvé, the first woman to be elected Speaker of the House of Commons, resigned as Speaker on January 15, 1984 during the Second Session of the Thirty-second Parliament, after having been designated to become Governor General.  On May 14, 1984, M^me Sauvé was sworn in as Canada’s first female Governor General.

[14]

Speaker Bosley resigned the Speakership on September 30, 1986.  Two letters dated September 5 and September 25, 1986, and addressed to the Clerk of the House of Commons, were tabled in the House.  (Journals, September 30, 1986, p. 2.)

[15]

With his election to the Speakership on September 30, 1986, Mr. Fraser became the first Speaker to be elected by secret ballot, following amendments to the Standing Orders adopted on June 27, 1985.  Speaker Fraser was elected on the eleventh ballot from among an original list of 39 candidates.  At the beginning of the 34^th Parliament, on December 12, 1988, Mr. Fraser was re-elected as Speaker on the first ballot from among a list of 12 candidates.

[16]

On January 17, 1994, Speaker Parent was elected on the sixth ballot from among an original list of 12 candidates.  At the beginning of the 36^th Parliament, on September 22, 1997, Mr. Parent was re-elected as Speaker on the fourth ballot from among an original list of 29 candidates.

[17]

On January 29, 2001, Speaker Milliken was elected on the fifth ballot from among an original list of 31 candidates. On October 4, 2004, after six of the seven candidates withdrew their names from the list of candidates before the first ballot, the House, by unanimous consent, agreed to dispense with the secret ballot and declare Mr. Milliken elected Speaker.