Appendix 2: 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, 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. Since 2015, the Speaker is elected using a single preferential ballot system.

	Date(s) of Election as Speaker	Parliament(s) (Years)
1. James Cockburn (Conservative)	November 6, 1867 March 5, 1873	1st Parliament (1867–72) 2nd Parliament (1873–74)
2. Timothy Warren Anglin¹ (Liberal)	March 26, 1874 February 7, 1878	1st–4th Session, 3rd Parliament (1874–77) 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 Edgar² (Liberal)	August 19, 1896	1st – 4th Session, 8th Parliament (1896–99)
8. Thomas Bain (Liberal)	August 1, 1899	4th – 5th Session, 8th Parliament (1899–1900)
9. Louis-Philippe Brodeur³ (Liberal)	February 6, 1901	1st – 3rd Session, 9th Parliament (1901–04)
10. Napoléon-Antoine Belcourt (Liberal)	March 10, 1904	4th Session, 9th Parliament (1904)
11. Robert Franklin Sutherland (Liberal)	January 11, 1905	10th Parliament (1905–08)
12. Charles Marcil (Liberal)	January 20, 1909	11th Parliament (1909–11)
13. Thomas Simpson Sproule⁴ (Conservative)	November 15, 1911	1st – 5th Session, 12th Parliament (1911–15)
14. Albert Sévigny⁵ (Conservative)	January 12, 1916	6th Session, 12th Parliament (1916–17)
15. Edgar Nelson Rhodes (Conservative)	January 18, 1917 March 18, 1918	7th Session, 12th Parliament (1917) 13th Parliament (1918–21)
16. Rodolphe Lemieux⁶ (Liberal)	March 8, 1922 January 7, 1926 December 9, 1926	14th Parliament (1922–25) 15th Parliament (1926) 16th Parliament (1926–30)
17. George Black⁷ (Conservative)	September 8, 1930	1st – 5th Session, 17th Parliament (1930–35)
18. James Langstaff Bowman (Conservative)	January 17, 1935	6th Session, 17th Parliament (1935)
19. Pierre-François Casgrain⁸ (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 Macdonald⁹ (Liberal)	September 15, 1949	21st Parliament (1949–53)
23. Louis-René Beaudoin¹⁰ (Liberal)	November 12, 1953	22nd Parliament (1953–57)
24. Roland Michener (Progressive Conservative)	October 14, 1957 May 12, 1958	23rd Parliament (1957–58) 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 Lamoureux¹¹ (Liberal)	January 18, 1966 September 12, 1968 January 4, 1973	27th Parliament (1966–68) 28th Parliament (1968–72) 29th Parliament (1973–74)
28. James Jerome¹² (Liberal)	September 30, 1974 October 9, 1979	30th Parliament (1974–79) 31st Parliament (1979)
29. Jeanne Sauvé¹³ (Liberal)	April 14, 1980	1st – 2nd Session, 32nd Parliament (1980–84)
30. Lloyd Francis (Liberal)	January 16, 1984	2nd Session, 32nd Parliament (1984)
31. John Bosley¹⁴ (Progressive Conservative)	November 5, 1984	1st – 2nd Session, 33rd Parliament (1984–86)
32. John Fraser¹⁵ (Progressive Conservative)	September 30, 1986 December 12, 1988	2nd Session, 33rd Parliament (1986–88) 34th Parliament (1988–93)
33. Gilbert Parent¹⁶ (Liberal)	January 17, 1994 September 22, 1997	35th Parliament (1994–97) 36th Parliament (1997–2000)
34. Peter Milliken¹⁷ (Liberal)	January 29, 2001 October 4, 2004 April 3, 2006 November 18, 2008	37th Parliament (2001–04) 38th Parliament (2004–05) 39th Parliament (2006–08) 40th Parliament (2008–11)
35. Andrew Scheer¹⁸ (Conservative)	June 2, 2011	41st Parliament (2011–15)
36. Geoff Regan¹⁹ (Liberal)	December 3, 2015	42nd Parliament (2015– )

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 presented a report to 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 as Speaker, 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 as Speaker, 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, Mme 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, John 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 11th ballot from an original list of 39 candidates. At the beginning of the Thirty-Fourth Parliament, on December 12, 1988, Mr. Fraser was re-elected as Speaker on the first ballot from a list of 12 candidates.
16.: On January 17, 1994, Speaker Parent was elected on the sixth ballot from an original list of 12 candidates. At the beginning of the Thirty-Sixth Parliament, on September 22, 1997, Mr. Parent was re-elected as Speaker on the fourth ballot from an original list of 29 candidates.
17.: On January 29, 2001, Speaker Milliken was elected on the fifth ballot from an original list of 32 candidates. On October 4, 2004, after six of the seven candidates withdrew their names from the list before the first ballot, the House, by unanimous consent, dispensed with the ballot and declared Mr. Milliken elected Speaker. On April 3, 2006, Mr. Milliken was re-elected on the first ballot from a list of three candidates. It marked the second time a Member of an opposition party had been elected to preside over the House of Commons. On November 18, 2008, Mr. Milliken was re-elected on the fifth ballot from an original list of eight candidates.
18.: On June 2, 2011, Speaker Scheer was elected on the sixth ballot from an original list of nine candidates, one of whom withdrew his name from the list before the first ballot. Elected at the age of 32 years and 13 days, Speaker Scheer was the youngest Speaker in the history of the House of Commons.
19.: On December 3, 2015, Speaker Regan was elected by a single preferential ballot system from an original list of four candidates. In effect since the start of the new Parliament, it was the first time a Speaker was elected using this system.

For questions about parliamentary procedure, contact the Table Research Branch

613-996-3611

trbdrb@parl.gc.ca