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The Speaker of the House of Commons is the impartial "referee" of the Members of Parliament and is 5th on the Canadian Order of Precedence. The Speaker is elected by his or her colleagues by secret ballot and is responsible for keeping order and following protocol in the House. |
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DutiesThe Speaker of the House of Commons has important responsibilities of a procedural, administrative, and ceremonial nature. He or she is elected by secret ballot by the whole House in a process overseen by the Dean of the House (the Member with the longest consecutive service who is not a Minister or Officer of the House). The Speaker must carry out his responsibilities in a non-partisan manner and with strict impartiality and can not vote on any motions unless there is a tie vote.As the chief presiding officer, he or she must maintain order in the Chamber and is responsible for procedural activities. The Speaker is also the Chairman of the Board of Internal Economy which is responsible for the administration of the 1500 House of Commons employees and its annual budget which exceeds $200 million. Moreover, the Speaker is the representative of the House of Commons in its relations with the Crown, the Senate, and authorities outside Parliament. In this capacity, he welcomes many visiting dignitaries and delegations and represents the House at national events and during visits abroad. In addition, the Speaker continues to carry out his or her responsibilities as a Member of Parliament for the their own riding constituents. The Honourable Greg FergusOn October 3, 2023, Members of the House of Commons elected the Honourable Greg Fergus as Speaker of the House of Commons. He is the first Black Speaker since Confederation.
The Honourable Greg Fergus has been serving the people of Hull-Aylmer in Parliament since October 2015. He has been Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Health. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Health and the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. He is also one of the Directors of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association.He is very committed to the Black community, to which he has always shown unwavering support. He founded and co-chaired the Parliamentary Black Caucus for six years. Mr. Fergus holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of International Relations from Carleton University. He has also undertaken graduate studies in international relations. During his time as a student, he served as a House of Commons page, part of the 1988–1989 cohort. He and his wife, Julie, are the proud parents of three adult children and doting grandparents to two grandchildren. |
