Dean of the House (Canada)

In Canada, the dean of the House (French: doyen de la Chambre) is the sitting Member of the House of Commons with the longest unbroken record of service. The dean is responsible for presiding over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons at the beginning of each Parliament. The position is the equivalent of the Father of the House in the British House of Commons.

Following a general election, or the resignation or death of the sitting Speaker, the House meets to elect a new Speaker.[1] This was started in 1986, though Speaker John Bosley presided at the time. The first time the modern election system for speaker was used was in 1994.

During these elections, the Dean of the House takes the role of presiding officer. If the longest-serving member is a Cabinet Minister, party Leader, House Leader or Whip, they cannot act as presiding officer.[2] In 1994, following the 1993 Canadian federal election, Liberal member Len Hopkins filled this role as his caucus mate Herb Gray, then the longest-serving member, was in Cabinet under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.[3] Although Gray was in cabinet, he was still referred to as Dean both in Hansard[4] and by the press.[5] Gray was also the longest-serving dean of the House up until that point, holding the role for 14 years from 1988 until 2002.

The current dean of the House is Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon, who was first elected to the Commons as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party at the 1984 federal general election.[6] In 2023, Plamondon eclipsed Gray as the longest-serving dean of the House, with 15 years in the role. The second-longest serving MP is currently Liberal Lawrence MacAulay, who has served continuously since the 1988 federal election. MacAulay is currently serving as a minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, however, so he would not be allowed to serve as Dean should Plamondon vacate his seat. Instead, MP Hedy Fry, a Liberal first elected in 1993, would act in his place. Upon the resignation of Speaker Anthony Rota in 2023, Plamondon served for the sixth time as presiding officer in the election of the Speaker.[7]

The chart below refers to longest-serving members, some of whom served in frontbench roles and, as such, did not preside over the election of the Speaker.

  1. ^ Election of the Speaker of the House. House of Commons. Canada. March 2006. Last accessed May 17, 2015. [1]
  2. ^ Election of the Speaker of the House. House of Commons. Canada. March 2006. Last accessed July 1, 2009. [2]
  3. ^ "Hansard", or Publications of the House of Commons, January 17, 1994, Debates (No. 1). Last accessed May 17, 2015. [3]
  4. ^ "Hansard #135 37-1". January 20, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "Longtime former MP Herb Gray dies at 82". Windsor Star. April 21, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  6. ^ Campion-Smith, Bruce (May 16, 2007). "Veteran MP set to retire". The Toronto Star.
  7. ^ Tasker, John Paul (September 26, 2023). "Anthony Rota resigns as Speaker after honouring Ukrainian veteran who fought with Nazi unit". CBC News.