In Canadian politics, a speaker () is a member of a legislative body who presides over their respective assembly. In most cases the position is based on the United Kingdom's speaker of the House of Commons, whose job in the Westminster parliamentary system is to ensure parliamentary procedure is conducted properly, and in an orderly fashion. This includes choosing which members are permitted to speak and when, as weel as disciplining members who breach parliamentary rules, such as members not respecting decorum.
Unlike the British system, speakers in Canada are not made to resign from their respective political parties upon assuming the office of speaker, although they are still expected to perform the duties of their role impartially. This has led speakers to occasionally be referred to as parliamentary referees. In the House of Commons and the legislative assemblies of the provinces and territories, the speaker does not vote on motions or legislation except in the case of a tie, in which case they are bound by the constitutional convention of Speaker Denison's rule to vote in favour of maintaining the status quo. The speaker of the Senate however is not bound by such rules, and is entitled to vote on all motions and legislation. The speaker of the Senate's appointment is also unique, as they are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister, rather than being elected internally by the incumbent members of the assembly.
At the municipal level, almost all municipal councils have the municipality's mayor serve as the presiding officer of a municipal council. The one exception to this rule is in the city of Toronto, where Toronto City Council elects a separate speaker to preside over council meetings instead of the mayor.
List of current speakers + Current speakers of Canadian legislative bodiesPortrait Speaker House/Assembly OrderParty Incumbency First mandate began Terms 40th Liberal 46th Independent 15th United Conservative 40th New Democratic No image 31st New Democratic 61st Liberal No image Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 45th Independent No image Nova Scotia House of Assembly 55th Progressive Conservative 43rd Progressive Conservative No image 34th Progressive Conservative No image 47th Coalition Avenir Québec No image 29th Saskatchewan Party No image 16th No image 13th N/A(consensus government) No image Yukon Legislative Assembly 31st Yukon Party Toronto City Council 2nd Independent
See also List of current first ministers of Canada List of mayors in Canada
References