The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario () is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Notable elections
1920 Nelson Parliament was a Liberal representing Prince Edward riding, who was named Speaker when the United Farmers of Ontario and Labour Party formed a coalition government in the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. A considerable number of members in the governing party were either freshly elected or chosen to serve as government ministers (which made them ineligible to be Speaker). As a result, the Premier, E.C. Drury, looked to the opposition benches for a Speaker, and chose Parliament, who had served as an MPP since 1914. Upon becoming Speaker, Parliament resigned from the Liberal caucus and sat without party affiliation, as a compromise for his election. While this is the normal practice in the British House of Commons, it is the only time it has happened in Ontario.
1977 Jack Stokes was the NDP MPP for Lake Nipigon, and was named Speaker by Progressive Conservative Premier Bill Davis. His election is an example of an instance where a member of an opposing party was elected to the position. Davis was elected to lead a minority government and having an opposition MPP as Speaker was a means of denying the opposition one vote (as the Speaker only votes in the occasion of a tie and then must vote by precedent).
1985 Liberal Party MPP Hugh Edighoffer (Perth) was named Speaker following the 1985 provincial election that returned a slim minority Progressive Conservative government under Frank Miller. The opposition Liberals and NDP together controlled a majority of seats and so Miller nominated Edighoffer as Speaker, with Liberal leader David Peterson seconding the nomination, and Edighoffer was acclaimed. Days later, the Miller government was brought down by a Motion of Non-Confidence and, as a result of an accord between the Liberals and the NDP, Liberal leader David Peterson was asked to form a government without the legislature being dissolved and a new election. Edighoffer, a Liberal MPP, remained Speaker for the duration of the Peterson government as well.
1990 NDP MPP David William Warner (Scarborough-Ellesmere) was elected Speaker on the second ballot, in the first election held for the position by secret ballot, as the result of a reform introduced by the newly-elected Ontario New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae. Warner won over Liberals Jean Poirier (Prescott and Russell) and Gilles Morin (Carleton East) and PC MPP Norm Sterling (Carleton).
1996 On the seventh ballot, PC MPP Chris Stockwell (Etobicoke West) was elected Speaker, defeating fellow PC MPP Margaret Marland (Mississauga South), who was the preferred choice of Premier Mike Harris. Candidates eliminated in the previous six ballots were PC MPPs David Tilson (Dufferin-Peel) Jack Carroll (Chatham-Kent), Gary Leadston (Kitchener-Wilmot), and Derwyn Shea (High Park—Swansea), NDP MPP Floyd Laughren (Nickel Belt) and Liberal Gilles Morin (Carleton East).
2011 There were nine candidates for the position of Speaker in the 40th Ontario legislature, held after the 2011 provincial election returned a minority Liberal government. The Liberal candidates were Donna Cansfield, who was supported by Premier Dalton McGuinty, Kevin Flynn, Dave Levac and David Zimmer. A fifth candidate, Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees withdrew after his bid failed to receive sufficient support from either side of the aisle.
David Zimmer dropped off after the first ballot. On the second ballot, Dave Levac was elected Speaker. The actual vote totals were not released.
2014 Liberal MPP Dave Levac was re-elected to a second term as Speaker at the first session of the 41st Parliament held on July 2, 2014, becoming the first Speaker since Hugh Edighoffer to serve more than one term. Levac defeated NDP MPP Paul Miller and Progressive Conservative Rick Nicholls on the third ballot. NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo was eliminated on the first ballot and Liberal MPP Shafiq Qaadri was eliminated on the second ballot. Actual vote totals were not released.
2018 PC MPP Ted Arnott was elected as Speaker at the first session of the 42nd Parliament held on July 11, 2018 on the first ballot, defeating Randy Hillier, Jane McKenna and Rick Nicholls. Arnott was one of the three longest serving members of the legislature at the time of election.
2022 Arnott was re-elected Speaker on August 8, 2022, defeating a challenge by fellow PC MPP Nina Tangri, who had been endorsed by Premier Doug Ford.
2025 Donna Skelly was elected Speaker on April 14, 2025, defeating Jennifer French. Skelly is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the legislature.
Election
As with other Speakers that are modeled on the Westminster system, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is elected using a secret ballot. Since 1990, the position has been elected by MPPs in this manner. Previously, the Speaker had been appointed directly by the Premier of Ontario after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the third-largest party, and then ratified by the legislature. David Warner was the first Speaker to be elected by their peers. This change reflects a similar reform undertaken by the federal House of Commons in 1986.
The Speaker is usually a member of the governing party. The only exceptions have been Jack Stokes, Nelson Parliament and Hugh Edighoffer.
The Speaker is required to perform their office impartially, but does not resign from their party membership upon taking office. This is identical to the system in place in the federal House of Commons, but stands in contrast to the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The only Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to have resigned his party affiliation upon election was Nelson Parliament, who was elected in 1920.
List of speakers of the Legislative Assembly Key:
No.PortraitNameElectoral district(Birth–Death)Term of officePartyParliamentTerm startTerm end1John StevensonMPP for Lennox(1812–1884)December 27,1867December 7,1871Conservative1st2Richard William ScottMPP for Ottawa(1825–1913)December 7,1871December 21,1871Liberal2nd3James CurrieMPP for Welland(1827–1901)December 21,1871March 29,1873 4Rupert Mearse WellsMPP for Bruce South(1835–1902)January 7,1874January 7,1880 3rd5Charles ClarkeMPP for Wellington Centre(1826–1909)January 7,1880February 10,1887 4th5th6Jacob BaxterMPP for Haldimand(1832–1912)February 10,1887February 11,1891 6th7Thomas BallantyneMPP for Perth South(1829–1908)February 11,1891February 21,1895 7th8William BalfourMPP for Essex South(1851–1896)February 21,1895July 14,1896 8th9Alfred ÉvanturelMPP for Prescott(1846–1908)February 10,1897March 10,1903 9th10William Andrew CharltonMPP for Norfolk South(1841–1930)March 10,1903March 22,1905 10th11Joseph St. JohnMPP for York West(1854–1907)March 22,1905April 7,1907Conservative11th12Thomas CrawfordMPP for Toronto West(1847–1932)April 8,1907February 7,1912 12th13William HoyleMPP for Ontario North(1842–1918)February 7,1912February 16,1915 13th14David JamiesonMPP for Grey South(1856–1942)February 16,1915March 9,1920 14th15Nelson ParliamentMPP for Prince Edward(1877–1967)March 9,1920February 6,1924Independent15th16Joseph ThompsonMPP for Toronto Northeast(1867–1941)February 6,1924February 2,1927Conservative16th17William BlackMPP for Addington(1867–1944)February 2,1927February 5,1930 17th18Thomas KiddMPP for Kingston(1889–1973)February 5,1930February 20,1935 18th19Norman HipelMPP for Waterloo South(1890–1953)February 20,1935September 2,1938Liberal19th20th20James ClarkMPP for Windsor—Sandwich(1888–1952)March 8,1939February 22,1944 21William James StewartMPP for Parkdale(1889–1969)February 22,1944March 21,1947Progressive Conservative21st22nd22James de Congalton HepburnMPP for Prince Edward—Lennox(1878–1955)March 24,1947February 10,1949 23M. C. DaviesMPP for Windsor—Walkerville(1897–1970)February 10,1949September 8,1955 23rd24th24Wally DownerMPP for Dufferin—Simcoe(1904–1994)September 8,1955January 26,1960 25th25William MurdochMPP for Essex South(1904–1984)January 26,1960October 29,1963 26th26Donald MorrowMPP for Ottawa West(1908–1995)October 29,1963February 14,1968 27th27Frederick CassMPP for Grenville—Dundas(1913–2000)February 14,1968December 13,1971 28th28Allan ReuterMPP for Waterloo South(1914–1982)December 13,1971October 22,1974 29th29Russell RoweMPP for Northumberland(1914–1994)October 22,1974October 17,1977 30th31st30Jack StokesMPP for Lake Nipigon(1923–2000)October 17,1977April 21,1981New Democratic31John Melville TurnerMPP for Peterborough(1922–2013)April 21,1981June 4,1985Progressive Conservative32nd32Hugh EdighofferMPP for Perth(1928–2019)June 4,1985November 19,1990Liberal33rd34th33David William WarnerMPP for Scarborough—Ellesmere(born 1941)November 19,1990September 26,1995New Democratic35th34Al McLeanMPP for Simcoe East(1937–2024)September 26,1995September 26,1996Progressive Conservative36th35Ed DoyleMPP for Wentworth East(born 1935)September 26,1996October 3,1996 36Chris StockwellMPP for Etobicoke West(1957–2018)October 3,1996October 20,1999 37Gary CarrMPP for Oakville(born 1955)October 20,1999November 19,2003 37th38Alvin CurlingMPP for Scarborough—Rouge River(born 1939)November 19,2003August 19,2005Liberal38th39Michael A. BrownMPP for Algoma—Manitoulin(born 1950)October 11,2005November 28,2007 40Steve PetersMPP for Elgin—Middlesex—London(born 1963)November 28,2007November 21,2011 39th41Dave LevacMPP for Brant(born 1954)November 21,2011May 8,2018 40th41st42Ted ArnottMPP for Wellington—Halton Hills(born 1963)July 11,2018April 14, 2025Progressive Conservative42nd43rd43Donna SkellyMPP for Flamborough—Glanbrook(born 1961)April 14, 2025Incumbent44th
List of current presiding officers The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is assisted by four other MPPs who are, along with the Speaker, collectively known as the presiding officers. Standing Order 2 of the Legislative Assembly requires that up to three of the five presiding officers hail from the Official Opposition. In the 43rd Parliament, however, the tradition of appointing three Official Opposition presiding officers was broken when three members from the governing Progressive Conservatives were appointed: Ted Arnott by secret ballot, and Donna Skelly and Patrice Barnes by the Government House Leader Paul Calandra, despite the fact that the Official Opposition NDP had put forward Jill Andrew and Jennifer French—in addition to eventual presiding officer Bhutila Karpoche—as appointees. Calandra dismissed Andrew's and French's appointments and selected Karpoche, Barnes and Lucille Collard from the Liberals, despite the Liberals not holding official party status in the Legislature. Skelly's appointment to the Deputy Speaker position was also unusual in that the role was traditionally given to the runner-up of the Speaker's election, which Skelly did not contend in (the true runner-up was Nina Tangri, who was Arnott's only challenger).
The Deputy Speaker is first in line to take the Chair in the absence of the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker is also ex officio the Chair of the Committee of the Whole House. The next three presiding officers are entitled deputy chairs of the Committee of the Whole House.
As with the Speaker, the other presiding officers are required to remain impartial in the Chair, but are not required to resign from their political party. They may participate in debate and vote as with any other member, when not in the Chair.