The Speaker of the Senate of Canada (French: Président du Sénat du 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 oversee debates and voting in the red chamber. This position is often misunderstood as being equivalent to that in the House of Commons, but it is not.

Appointment and precedence

The Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the governor general, on behalf of the monarch, and on the advice of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. By convention, however, this advice is generally expressed exclusively by the prime minister.

The Speaker of the Senate takes precedence only after the queen, the governor general, other members of the royal family, former governors general and their spouses, the prime minister, former prime ministers, and the chief justice on the Canadian Order of Precedence|order of precedence and, therefore, is qualified to represent Canada at official state functions, both in Canada and abroad.

History of the speakership

The role of the Speaker in the Senate was originally based on that of the Lord Chancellor in the United Kingdom. In keeping with the role of the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the Senate was expected to be partisan; they 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 Lords was that the speaker would not intervene unless another senator brought the matter to the attention of the speaker. Decisions from the chair remain subject to appeals from the Senate.

Canada has more recently departed with the traditions of the House of Lords, notably since 1991, when new rules for the Senate were adopted. The new standing orders 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 self-governing practices of the House of Lords, and more toward the chair-governed customs of the House of Commons.

The position was predecessed by the Speaker of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada.

Role of the speakership

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 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, they also remain a representative of the province from which they were appointed. Unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Speaker has the right to participate in debates on behalf of the citizens of their province or territory. The speaker has the right to cast an original vote, and to simultaneously preside over the voting process (rather than the speaker delivering a casting vote in the event of an equality, the question before the House is deemed to have been rejected).

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 as Chair of the Board of Internal Economy. The Speaker of the Senate holds no similar role, and the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration is chaired by another Senator.

In the absence of the Speaker in the Chamber, his 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.

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

Party in the Senate means Political Affiliation, as there are no real parties in the Canadian Senate.

Independent Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Joseph Cauchon (5 November 1867 to 16 May 1869)

Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. John Ross (17 May 1869 to 26 May 1869)

Independent Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Joseph Cauchon (27 May 1869 to 2 June 1872)

Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Amos Botsford (3 June 1872 to 5 June 1872)

Independent Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Joseph Cauchon (6 June 1872 to 30 June 1872)

Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (21 February 1873 to 8 January 1874)

Liberal Party Speaker

• The Hon. David Christie (9 January 1874 to 16 October 1878)

Conservative Party Speakers

• The Hon. Robert Duncan Wilmot (7 November 1878 to 10 February 1880)
• The Hon. Sir David Macpherson (11 February 1880 to 15 February 1880)
• The Hon. Amos Botsford (16 February 1880 to 18 April 1880)
• The Hon. SIr David Macpherson (19 April 1880 to 16 October 1883)

Liberal-Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. William Miller (17 October 1883 to 3 April 1887)

Conservative Party Speakers

• The Hon. Josiah Plumb (4 April 1887 to 12 March 1888)
• The Hon. George Allan (17 March 1888 to 26 April 1891)
• The Hon. Sir Alexandre Lacoste (27 April 1891 to 13 September 1891)
• The Hon. John Jones Ross (14 September 1891 to 12 July 1896)

Liberal Party Speakers

• The Hon. Sir Charles Pelletier (13 July 1896 to 28 January 1901)
• The Hon. Lawrence Power (29 January 1901 to 8 January 1905)
• The Hon. Raoul Dandurand (9 January 1905 to 13 January 1909)
• The Hon. James Kerr (14 January 1909 to 22 October 1911)

Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Auguste Landry (23 October 1911 to 2 June 1916)

Nationalist Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Joseph Bolduc (3 June 1916 to 6 February 1922)

Liberal Party Speakers

• The Hon. Hewitt Bostock (7 February 1922 to 12 May 1930)
• The Hon. Arthur Hardy (13 May 1930 to 2 September 1930)

Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Pierre Blondin (3 September 1930 to 10 January 1936)

Liberal Party Speakers

• The Hon. Walter Foster (11 January 1936 to 8 May 1940)
• The Hon. Georges Parent (9 May 1940 to 14 December 1942)
• The Hon. Thomas Vien (23 January 1943 to 23 August 1945)
• The Hon. James King (24 August 1945 to 2 August 1949)
• The Hon. Elie Beauregard (3 August 1949 to 13 October 1953)
• The Hon. Wishart Robertson (14 October 1953 to 3 October 1957)

Progressive Conservative Party Speakers

• The Hon. Mark Drouin (4 October 1957 to 23 September 1962)
• The Hon. George White (24 September 1962 to 26 April 1963)

Liberal Party Speakers

• The Hon. Maurice Bourget (27 April 1963 to 6 January 1966)
• The Hon. Sydney Smith (7 January 1966 to 4 September 1968)
• The Hon. Jean-Paul Deschatelets (5 September 1968 to 13 December 1972)
• The Hon. Muriel Fergusson (14 December 1972 to 11 September 1974)
• The Hon. Renaude Lapointe (12 September 1974 to 4 October 1979)

Progressive Conservative Party Speakers

• The Hon. Allister Grosart (5 October 1979 to 3 March 1980)

Liberal Party Speakers

• The Hon. Jean Marchand (4 March 1980 to 15 December 1983)
• The Hon. Maurice Riel (16 December 1983 to 1 November 1984)

Progressive Conservative Party Speaker

• The Hon. Guy Charbonneau (2 November 1984 to 6 December 1993)

Liberal Party Speakers

• The Rt. Hon. Roméo LeBlanc (7 December 1993 to 21 November 1994)
• The Hon. Gildas Molgat (22 November 1994 to 25 January 2001)
• The Hon. Daniel Hays (26 January 2001 to 7 February 2006)

Conservative Party Speakers

• The Hon. Noël Kinsella (8 February 2006 to 26 November 2014)
• The Hon. Pierre Claude Nolin (27 November 2014 to 23 April 2015)
• The Hon. Leo Housakos (24 April 2015 to 3 December 2015)

Independent Liberal Speaker

• The Hon. George Furey (3 December 2015 to present)