Greg Fergus is the first Black person elected Speaker of the House of Commons

Quebec Liberal MP Greg Fergus was elected 38th Speaker of the House of Commons on Tuesday, replacing northern Ontario MP Anthony Rota.
Thestar.com
Oct. 4, 2023
Alex Ballingall

The first Black person to become Speaker of the House of Commons vowed Tuesday to ensure debate in Parliament is more respectful, as he steers the institution away from the widely condemned disgrace that saw MPs applaud a veteran who fought with a Nazi unit during the Second World War.

Greg Fergus, the Liberal MP for the Quebec riding of Hull--Aylmer, was elected to replace northern Ontario’s Anthony Rota as Speaker, in a contest that saw all seven candidates declare the need to improve the tone and intensity of debate in the House of Commons.

In taking the Speaker’s chair for the first time, Fergus thanked MPs for their support and called the six others who vied for the job “amazing Canadians” who have served the public with “honour and integrity.”

He pledged to ensure the atmosphere in the House of Commons is more respectful, since Parliament is where many “hard debates” about Canada take place.

“Respect is a fundamental part of what we do here. We need to make sure that we treat each other with respect, that we show Canadians the example, because there can be no dialogue unless there’s a mutual understanding of respect,” said Fergus, who was previously co-chair of Parliament’s cross-party Black caucus.

“There can be no ability to perceive the arguments, to make your points be heard, unless we all agree to extend to each other that sense of respect and decorum,” he said.

After Fergus finished thanking MPs for their support, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed him as the first Black Canadian to become Speaker after a series of 36 white men -- and one white woman -- that stretches back to Confederation in 1867.

“This should be inspiring for all Canadians, especially younger generations who want to get involved in politics,” Trudeau said.

“Canadians expect us all to work together to deliver results. They expect us to behave to the highest standards. Mr. Speaker, I know you will help us rise to meet this moment.”

Noting Fergus’s new-found place in history, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the new Speaker also now bears an “incredible weight” of responsibility for the “incredible feat” of his election to the role.

“Now, when people walk the halls of this place, when they look at the pictures on the walls and they’re reminded of some of the great achievements of Canada, and some of the grave errors that we’ve made as a nation, they’re one day going to see your face on the walls of this chamber,” Singh said, referring to how official portraits of all Speakers hang in the Parliament buildings.

“There’s going to be kids who maybe have come here and not seen themselves reflected on the walls, and that’s going to change now, and that’s very powerful,” he said. “I know you know how important that is.”

Despite praise and kind words from leaders of all parties, the partisan tone was quick to return. After congratulating Fergus for his election, Conservative

Leader Pierre Poilievre suggested there is a parallel between the Trudeau government and the medieval king forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

Poilievre accused the Liberals of creating “unprecedented strain” on Canadians facing rising costs and taxes that his Conservatives oppose.

“Now more than ever, the role of Parliament in restraining the power of the prime minister is primordial,” Poilievre said. “We will always remember that we are servants and not masters,” he added, concluding with his political slogans championing “common sense.”

Tuesday’s election was a rare example of the House choosing a new Speaker in the middle of a Parliamentary session. The vote was necessary after Rota accepted the blame and resigned as Speaker over the Nazi controversy that occurred during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Canada. Zelenskyy was among those in a packed House of Commons when Rota directed everyone to recognize 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, whom he described as a “hero” who fought against the Russians during the Second World War.

It later emerged that Hunka fought with a Ukrainian unit of the Nazi German army, prompting headlines around the world and denunciations from Jewish groups and other victims of the Third Reich’s genocidal violence.

Addressing the House before MPs elected him as Speaker, Fergus pledged to “quickly” restore the honour of the House of Commons in the wake of the incident.

“What brought us here today requires a response. Words matter. Symbols matter. This I know. And as your Speaker I will restore, quickly -- bring back the honour to this chamber,” he said.

Fergus also described himself as someone who subscribed to transcripts of parliamentary debates as a teenager, and who remembers being awed “by the majesty of this sanctum of democracy” when he served as a page in the House of Commons in 1988.

“I will be a Speaker who is firm, thoughtful, collaborative, consistent and certainly fair,” he pledged.

Along with Fergus, those who put their names forward as candidates included Liberal MPs Sean Casey, Alexandra Mendès and Peter Schiefke; Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont; New Democrat MP Carol Hughes; and Green MP -- and party leader -- Elizabeth May.

Fergus was first elected in 2015, when the Liberals took power under Trudeau. Aside from co-chairing the Black caucus on Parliament Hill, he was often the subject of speculation as a contender to enter cabinet, but never did. In recent years, he was parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, and recently appointed parliamentary secretary to both the president of the Treasury Board and minister of health.

Along with the responsibilities of his new job, Fergus will get a $92,800 bump on his $194,600 base salary as an MP. He will also have access to an official residence called “The Farm,” a 19th-century estate in the Gatineau hills that Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King bequeathed to the federal government when he died there in 1950.