Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons

Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons  (Speaker)

The Speaker of the House of Commons (French: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow members of Parliament (MPs). The speaker's role in presiding over Canada's House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system.

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 and the Crown. He or she is 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$269,800 ($182,600 as an MP in addition to $87,200 as speaker) and has use of a small apartment, in the House of Commons, and an official residence, The Farm, an estate located at Kingsmere in Gatineau Park, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa 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, which provides security to Parliament Hill with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The term "speaker" originates from the British parliamentary tradition. The French term now used in Canada is (president, chairperson, or presiding officer); the term calque (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. By convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as "Mister Speaker", for a male, and "Madame Speaker", for a female.

Retirement

Most former speakers retire from Parliament after their tenure as speaker, sometimes after returning to the backbench for a period. Several have been appointed to diplomatic positions, summoned to the Senate, or appointed to a vice-regal position such as lieutenant-governor of a province or, in two cases, governor general of Canada. While several former Cabinet ministers have been speaker or stood for the position, no former speakers have subsequently been appointed to Cabinet. One speaker, Andrew Scheer, has gone on to assume a front bench position in the House of Commons: Scheer became leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2017 and has been leader of the Opposition from 2017 to 2020.

 

Office Holders on Wikispooks

Name	From	To
Jeanne Sauvé	14 April 1980	15 January 1984
Roland Michener	14 October 1957	26 September 1962

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