Speaker of the Senate of Canada

The speaker of the Senate of Canada () is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary privilege, and presides over debates and voting in the chamber. The office of the speaker is held by Raymonde Gagné who has held the position since May 16, 2023.

Appointment and precedence

By convention, the speaker of the Senate is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.

The speaker of the Senate takes precedence only after the monarch, the governor general, members of the Canadian Royal Family, former governors general and their spouses, the prime minister, former prime ministers, and the chief justice of Canada in the Canadian Order of Precedence.

History of the speaker

The role of the speaker in the Senate was originally based on that of the lord chancellor in the United Kingdom, who presided over the British House of Lords. In keeping with the role of the lord chancellor, the speaker of the Senate was expected to be partisan; the speaker of the Senate would, at all times, have the right to leave the chair, to participate in debates, and to hold an original vote—unlike the speaker of the House of Commons, who has a vote only in the event of a tie.

The speaker of the Senate was also similar to the lord chancellor in being considered equal to other senators. Decisions of the chair were not binding on the Senate unless the speaker's decision was also the pleasure of a majority of senators. Also similar to the practice of the House of Lords was that the speaker would not intervene unless another senator brought a matter to the attention of the speaker. Decisions from the chair remain subject to appeals from the Senate.

Canada has more recently departed from the traditions of the House of Lords, notably since 1991, when new rules for the Senate were adopted. The new Standing Orders have made it clear that the speaker of the Senate could intervene without being called to do so by the Senate. The new guidelines move the Senate further from the model of the self-governing practices of the House of Lords, and more toward the chair-governed customs of the House of Commons.

The position was preceded by the speaker of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada.

Role of the speaker The speaker of the Senate is historically responsible for deciding on points of order, only once risen by another senator. However, with the 1991 amendments to the Standing Orders and Guidelines that govern the Senate of Canada, the speakership has generally begun to assert its right to intervene, where appropriate, without being prompted to do so. Therefore, the speaker is, broadly speaking, responsible for the maintenance of order and decorum in the Senate.

As a high-ranking individual on the order of precedence, the speaker of the Senate often receives visiting heads of state and heads of government — this role is not merely ceremonial; the speaker is a real delegate and representative of Canada abroad. They are expected to represent Canada internationally, and sometimes visit other nations on behalf of the Government of Canada.

While the speaker is an officer of the Senate, the speaker as a senator also remains a representative of the province or territory from which they were appointed. Unlike the speaker of the House of Commons, the speaker of the Senate has the right to participate in debates. The speaker has the right and power to cast an original vote, and to simultaneously preside over the voting process (rather than the speaker merely delivering a tie-breaking vote).

Another significant difference between the two speakers is that the speaker of the House of Commons holds a management role within the administration of the House of Commons and chairs the Board of Internal Economy. The speaker of the Senate holds no similar role, as the Senate's Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration is chaired by another senator.

In the absence of the speaker in the chamber, their duties are carried by the speaker pro tempore, a senator appointed at the beginning of each session by the Senate. Should both chair officers be absent, any senator can be called upon to take the chair. Irrespective of who is in the chair, their decisions hold the same force as that of the speaker of the Senate.

Ceremony The speaker of the Senate performs the Senate Speaker's Parade to mark the opening of a sitting in the Senate with the help of the Black Rod.

List of speakers of the Senate Key:

No. Portrait Name Term of officeParty1Joseph-Édouard CauchonNovember 5,1867May 16,1869IndependentConservative2John RossMay 17,1869May 26,1869Conservative(1)Joseph-Édouard CauchonMay 27,1869June 2,1872IndependentConservative3Amos Edwin BotsfordJune 3,1872June 5,1872Conservative(1)Joseph-Édouard CauchonJune 6,1872June 30,1872IndependentConservative4Pierre-Joseph-Olivier ChauveauFebruary 21,1873January 8,1874Conservative5David ChristieJanuary 9,1874October 16,1878Liberal6Robert Duncan WilmotNovember 7,1878February 10,1880Conservative7David Lewis MacphersonFebruary 11,1880February 15,1880Conservative(3)Amos Edwin BotsfordFebruary 16,1880April 18,1880Conservative(7)David Lewis MacphersonApril 19,1880October 16,1883Conservative8William MillerOctober 17,1883April 3,1887Liberal-Conservative9Josiah Burr PlumbApril 4,1887March 12,1888Conservative10George William AllanMarch 17,1888April 26,1891Conservative11Alexandre LacosteApril 27,1891September 13,1891Conservative12John Jones RossSeptember 14,1891July 12,1896Conservative13Charles Alphonse Pantaléon PelletierJuly 13,1896January 28,1901Liberal14Lawrence Geoffrey PowerJanuary 29,1901January 8,1905Liberal15Raoul DandurandJanuary 9,1905January 13,1909Liberal16James Kirkpatrick KerrJanuary 14,1909October 22,1911Liberal17Auguste Charles Philippe Robert LandryOctober 23,1911June 2,1916Conservative18Joseph BolducJune 3,1916February 6,1922NationalistConservative19Hewitt BostockFebruary 7,1922May 12,1930Liberal20Arthur Charles HardyMay 13,1930September 2,1930Liberal21Pierre-Édouard BlondinSeptember 3,1930January 10,1936Conservative22Walter Edward FosterJanuary 11,1936May 8,1940Liberal23Georges ParentMay 9,1940December 14,1942Liberal24Thomas VienJanuary 23,1943August 23,1945Liberal25James Horace KingAugust 24,1945August 2,1949Liberal26Élie BeauregardAugust 3,1949October 13,1953Liberal27Wishart McLea RobertsonOctober 14,1953October 3,1957Liberal28Mark Robert DrouinOctober 4,1957September 23,1962ProgressiveConservative29George Stanley WhiteSeptember 24,1962April 26,1963ProgressiveConservative30Maurice BourgetApril 27,1963January 6,1966Liberal31Sydney John SmithJanuary 7,1966September 4,1968Liberal32Jean-Paul DeschateletsSeptember 5,1968December 13,1972Liberal33Muriel McQueen FergussonDecember 14,1972September 11,1974Liberal34Renaude LapointeSeptember 12,1974October 4,1979Liberal35Allister GrosartOctober 5,1979March 3,1980ProgressiveConservative36Jean MarchandMarch 4,1980December 15,1983Liberal37Maurice RielDecember 16,1983November 1,1984Liberal38Guy CharbonneauNovember 2,1984December 6,1993ProgressiveConservative39Roméo LeBlancDecember 7,1993November 21,1994Liberal40Gildas MolgatNovember 22,1994January 25,2001Liberal41Dan HaysJanuary 26,2001February 7,2006Liberal42Noël KinsellaFebruary 8,2006November 26,2014Conservative43Pierre Claude NolinNovember 27,2014April 23,2015Conservative44Leo HousakosApril 24,2015December 2,2015Conservative45George FureyDecember 3,2015May 12,2023Independent46Raymonde GagnéMay 16,2023IncumbentIndependent

Hays, Housakos, and Furey are the only current living former speakers of the Senate.

Several speakers have died during their time in office:

Josiah Burr Plumb, 1888 Hewitt Bostock, 1930 Georges Parent, 1942 Pierre Claude Nolin, 2015

External links Speaker of the Senate webpage

References