The first Black Canadian has been elected as the Speaker of the House of Commons today.
Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Greg Fergus has been elected as the 38th Speaker in a historic mid-session vote after former speaker Anthony Rota stepped down last week.
READ MORE: House Speaker resigns after praising Nazi officer in Parliament
Fergus, 54, has been the MP for the Quebec riding of Hull-Aylmer since 2015.
MPs gave Fergus a standing ovation and big round of applause when he was announced as the new speaker Tuesday afternoon.
Following tradition, the new speaker was “dragged” to the chair in the House by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre.
In a speech to Parliament, Fergus said his role as Speaker is to ensure standing orders and rules are followed so that all MPs can participate in respectful debates.
“…Respect is the 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,” Fergus said.
“I’m going to be working hard on this and I need all of your help to make this happen,” he added.
Trudeau spoke in the House after Fergus sat in his chair and congratulated him on the historic win.
“Today you are the first Black Canadian to become Speaker of this House,” Trudeau said, while Parliament erupted in cheers. “This should be inspiring for all Canadians, especially younger generations who want to get involved in politics, congratulations.”
A total of seven candidates ran for Speaker, including Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
Rota resigned after delivering a parliamentary speech, praising a Ukrainian war veteran, who then received a standing ovation. The vet was later revealed to have been a Nazi.
