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, however at the time, Speaker John Bosley presided. 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 are not able to act as presiding officer.[2] In 1994, following the 1993 election, Len Hopkins filled this role as Herb Gray, the longest serving member, was in Cabinet.[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, holding the role for 14 years from 1988-2002.

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 in 1984.[6]

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

List of longest serving members

Member		Party	Entered House	Became longest serving member	Left House	Years as a Member	Years as Dean
	John Costigan	Liberal-Conservative (until 1906)	1867	1896	1907	40	11
		Liberal (after 1906)
	John Graham Haggart	Conservative	1872	1907	1913	41	6
	Wilfrid Laurier[note 1]	Liberal	1874	1913	1919	45	6
	John Reid	Conservative	1891	1919	1921	30	2
	William MacLean	Unionist	1892	1921	1926	34	5
	Rodolphe Lemieux	Liberal	1896	1926	1930	34	4
	Charles Marcil	Liberal	1900	1930	1937	37	7
	Ernest Lapointe	Liberal	1904	1937	1941	37	4
	Arthur Cardin	Liberal (until 1942)	1911	1941	1946	35	5
		Independent (after 1942)
	Charles Gavan Power	Liberal	1917	1946	1955	38	9
	William Earl Rowe	Progressive Conservative	1925	1955	1963	38	8
	Azellus Denis	Liberal	1935	1963	1964	29	1
	Paul Martin Sr.	Liberal	1935	1964	1968	33	4
	John Diefenbaker	Progressive Conservative	1940	1968	1979	39	11
	Walter Dinsdale	Progressive Conservative	1951	1979	1982	31	3
	Robert Coates	Progressive Conservative	1957	1982	1988	31	6
	Herb Gray[note 2]	Liberal	1962	1988	2002	40	14
	Charles Caccia	Liberal	1968	2002	2004	36	2
	Bill Blaikie	New Democrat	1979	2004	2008	29	4
	Louis Plamondon	Progressive Conservative (until 1990)	1984	2008	incumbent	36	12 (as of 2020)
		Bloc Québécois (1990–2018)
		Québec Debout (2018)
		Bloc Québécois (2018–present)

Notes

1. Served as party leader during his tenure as longest serving member
2. Served as a cabinet minister during his tenure as longest serving member

References

1. Election of the Speaker of the House. House of Commons. Canada. March 2006. Last accessed May 17, 2015.
2. Election of the Speaker of the House. House of Commons. Canada. March 2006. Last accessed July 1, 2009.
3. "Hansard", or Publications of the House of Commons, January 17, 1994, Debates (No. 1). Last accessed May 17, 2015.
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.