Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature. Since 1994 the position has been elected by MLAs using a secret ballot. Previously, the Speaker had been appointed by motion of the house, in practice moved by the Premier of New Brunswick usually after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Shirley Dysart was the first Speaker to be elected by their peers.

The Speaker is usually a member of the governing party. The only recent exceptions have been Robert McCready and Michael Malley. McCready was appointed by motion of Premier Richard Hatfield following the close election of 1978. Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party had won only 30 seats compared to the 28 seats won by the opposition Liberal Party. McCready was a member of the Liberal caucus and was appointed over the objection of the Liberal Party. The Liberal opposition argued on a point of order before the clerk of the assembly that precedent required that the opposition support the motion appointing speaker, but the clerk allowed the motion to be put and carried by the government. Malley was elected in 2006 while sitting as an independent. Malley had left the government caucus following a cabinet shuffle that had seen the incumbent speaker, Bev Harrison, join the cabinet leaving the post vacant. Malley argued that he should have been included in the cabinet for regional reasons and left the government caucus in protest; to prevent losing control of the legislature in a tenuous minority government situation, the Progressive Conservative caucus supported Malley as speaker. Malley later changed his party affiliation, amid some controversy, back to that of the governing Progressive Conservatives while occupying the speakership.

List of speakers No.NameElectoral district(Birth–Death)Term of officePartyLegislature1Amos BotsfordMLA for Westmorland(1744/1745–1812)1786–1812Independent1st2nd3rd4th5th2John RobinsonMLA for Saint John City(1762–1828)1813–1816Independent3William BotsfordMLA for Westmorland(1773–1864)1817–1823Independent6th7th8th4Ward Chipman Jr.MLA for Saint John County(1787–1851)1824–1825Independent5Harry PetersMLA for Saint John City(1788–1870)1826–1827Independent6Richard SimondsMLA for Northumberland(1789–1836)1828Independent9th7Charles SimondsMLA for Saint John County(1783–1859)1829–1830Independent10th8William CraneMLA for Westmorland(1785–1853)1831–1834Independent(7)Charles SimondsMLA for Saint John County(1783–1859)1835–1842Independent11th12th9John Wesley WeldonMLA for Kent(1809–1885)1843–1850Independent13th14th(7)Charles SimondsMLA for Saint John County(1783–1859)1851Independent15th(8)William CraneMLA for Westmorland(1785–1853)1852–1853Independent10Daniel HaningtonMLA for Westmorland(1804–1889)1853–1856Independent16th(7)Charles SimondsMLA for Saint John County(1783–1859)1856–1857Independent17th11James A. HardingMLA for Saint John City(1820–1893)1857–1858Independent18th12John Mercer JohnsonMLA for Northumberland(1818–1868)1859–1862Independent19th13John Campbell AllenMLA for York(1817–1898)1863–1864Independent14Edwin Arnold VailMLA for Kings(1817–1885)1865–1866Independent20th15John Hamilton GrayMLA for Saint John County(1814–1889)1866–1867Independent21st 16Bliss BotsfordMLA for Westmorland(1813–1890)1868–1870Independent(14)Edwin Arnold VailMLA for Kings(1817–1885)1871–1874Independent22nd17William WedderburnMLA for Saint John City(1834–1918)1875–1878Independent23rd18Benjamin Robert StephensonMLA for Charlotte(1835–1890)1879–1882Independent24th19James E. LynottMLA for Charlotte(1839–1890)1883–1886Independent25th20William PugsleyMLA for Kings(1850–1925)1887–1889Independent26th21Albert Scott WhiteMLA for Kings(1855–1931)1890–1892Independent27th22John Percival BurchillMLA for Northumberland(1855–1923)1893–1899Independent28th29th23Clifford William RobinsonMLA for Westmorland(1866–1944)1901–1907Independent30th31st24Charles J. OsmanMLA for Albert(1851–1922)1907Independent25Donald MorrisonMLA for Northumberland(1852–1920)1908Independent32nd26George Johnson ClarkeMLA for Charlotte(1857–1917)1909–1914Independent33rd27Walter B. DicksonMLA for Albert(1847–1916)1914–1916Independent28Olivier-Maximin MelansonMLA for Westmorland(1854–1926)1916Independent29William CurrieMLA for Restigouche(1862–1934)1917–1918Liberal34th30Judson HetheringtonMLA for Queens(1866–1928)1919–1920Liberal31Allison DysartMLA for Kent(1880–1962)1921–1925Liberal35th32Joseph Leonard O'BrienMLA for Northumberland(1895–1973)1926–1930Conservative36th33Frederick C. SquiresMLA for Carleton(1881–1960)1931–1935Conservative37th34Hedley Francis Gregory BridgesMLA for Restigouche(1902–1947)1936–1938Liberal38th35Frederic McGrandMLA for Queens(1895–1988)1940–1944Liberal39th36Harry O. DowneyMLA for Albert(1897–1974)1945–1952Liberal40th41st37Elmor T. KennedyMLA for Kings(1885–1953)1953Progressive Conservative42nd38Walter PowersMLA for Victoria(1895–1954)1954Progressive Conservative39J. Arthur MooreMLA for Queens(1891–1979)1955–1960Progressive Conservative43rd40Ernest RichardMLA for Gloucester(1922–2006)1960–1963Liberal44th41Bernard JeanMLA for Gloucester(1925–2012)1963–1966Liberal45th42H. H. WilliamsonMLA for Gloucester(1916–1972)1966–1967Liberal43Robert McCreadyMLA for Bathurst(1921–1995)1968–1970Liberal46th44Lawrence GarvieMLA for Fredericton(1933–2011)1971–1973Progressive Conservative47th45William J. WoodroffeMLA for Saint John East (until 1974)MLA for Saint John-Fundy (from 1974)(1933–2003)1973–1978Progressive Conservative48th(43)Robert McCreadyMLA for Queens South(1921–1995)1979–1980Liberal49th46James N. Tucker Jr.MLA for Charlotte-Fundy(born 1934)1981–1985Progressive Conservative50th47Charles GallagherMLA for Carleton North(1925–2007)1985–1987Progressive Conservative48Frank BranchMLA for Nepisiguit-Chaleur(1944–2018)1987–1991Liberal51st49Shirley DysartMLA for Saint John Park(1928–2016)1991–1994Liberal52nd50Gérald ClavetteMLA for Madawaska Centre(born 1941)1994Liberal(49)Shirley DysartMLA for Saint John Park(1928–2016)1994–1995Liberal51Danny GayMLA for Miramichi Bay(born 1950)1995–1998Liberal53rd52John McKayMLA for Miramichi Centre(born 1948)1998–1999Liberal53Bev HarrisonMLA for Hampton-Belleisle(born 1942)1999–2006Progressive Conservative54th55th54Michael MalleyMLA for Miramichi-Bay du Vin(born 1962)2006Progressive Conservative55Eugene McGinleyMLA for Grand Lake-Gagetown(1935–2019)2007Liberal56th56Roy BoudreauMLA for Campbellton-Restigouche Centre(1946–2023)2007–2010Liberal57Dale GrahamMLA for Carleton(born 1951)2010–2014Progressive Conservative57th58Chris CollinsMLA for Moncton Centre(born 1951)2014–2018Liberal58th59Daniel GuitardMLA for Restigouche-Chaleur(born 1959)2018–2020Liberal59th60Bill OliverMLA for Kings Centre(born 1959)2020–2024Progressive Conservative60th61Francine LandryMLA for Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston(born 1959)2024–presentLiberal61st

References The Evolving Speakership, Canadian Parliamentary Review