Gregory Cristophe Fergus PC MP (born May 31, 1969) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 38th and current speaker of the House of Commons since October 3, 2023. He is the member of Parliament (MP) for Hull—Aylmer.
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A member of the Liberal Party, Fergus was first elected in the 2015 federal election and has held a number of portfolios as a parliamentary secretary. Before his election to Parliament, Fergus worked as a political staffer.
Early life and education
editFergus' grandfather immigrated to Canada from the British colony of Montserrat.[2]
Greg Fergus studied at public English elementary schools, Westpark and Sunnydale, and later attended Lindsay Place High School.[3] After a teachers’ strike affected his schooling, his parents decided to send him to Selwyn House School, a private boys’ school, followed by Marianopolis College, and he later earned two bachelor's degrees, one from the University of Ottawa and the other in international relations from Carleton University.[2][3][4][5] At Selwyn House, which he attended from Grade 9 to 11, he was classmates with entrepreneurs Vincenzo Guzzo, Mark Pathy and Michael Penner, who later served as chairman of Hydro-Québec.[6][7][8]
Fergus was president of the Young Liberals of Canada from 1994 to 1996, where he attracted attention for supporting the passage of a motion calling on the Liberal Party to support same-sex marriage. After attending university and earning bachelor's degrees in social science and international relations, he worked for Liberal cabinet ministers Pierre Pettigrew and Jim Peterson. In 2007, Stéphane Dion named him the national director of the Liberal Party.[9][5]
Political career
editIn the 2015 federal election, Fergus was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Hull—Aylmer, a traditionally Liberal riding that had fallen to the New Democratic Party in the previous election. The contest was attended by some controversy, as NDP incumbent Nycole Turmel accused Fergus' campaign of spreading rumours that she was terminally ill, which Fergus denied.[10] Fergus won the election by over 11,000 votes in a race that was expected to be close by the New Democratic Party and Liberals.
From March 19, 2021 to September 17, 2023 Fergus Served as Parliamentary Secretary to Justin Trudeau.
On October 3, 2023, Fergus was elected as the 38th speaker of the House of Commons, becoming the first black house speaker.[11]
Controversies
editIn February 2023, Fergus was found to have violated the Conflict of Interest Act by writing a letter of support for a television channel's application to the CRTC for mandatory carriage.[12]
In December 2023, Fergus appeared in a video tribute to John Fraser which was played at the Ontario Liberal Party leadership convention, dressed as Speaker of the House of Commons. Conservative Party of Canada and Bloc Québécois MPs called on Fergus to resign for breaching the Speaker's impartiality.[13]
The matter was studied by the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. On December 14, 2023 Committee Chair Bardish Chagger presented a report supported by Liberal and NDP MPs calling on Fergus to "undertake the appropriate steps to reimburse a suitable amount for the use of parliamentary resources" and " issue another apology clearly stating that filming the video both in his office, and in his robes was inappropriate". Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs each issued dissenting reports calling on Fergus to resign.
On April 30, 2024, Fergus ordered the official opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, to leave the House of Commons for calling the Prime Minister a "wacko", and for insinuating that his policies had led to the deaths of thousands of Canadians. The entirety of the Conservative Party followed him. This marked the first time in history that an opposition leader had been instructed to leave the House.[14][15]
In May 2024, Conservative MP Chris Warkentin wrote a letter criticizing Fergus over language used in an advertisement promoting an event which Warkentin argued was partisan and inflammatory. Warkentin further claimed that these comments rendered Fergus unsuitable for the role of Speaker.[16]
On May 28, 2024, Fergus survived a vote to expel him as speaker of the House of Commons (168 to 142). The Liberals, Greens, and New Democrats voted against expelling him, while the Bloc Quebecois and Conservatives voted in favour of expelling him.[17]
Electoral record
edit| 2021 Canadian federal election: Hull—Aylmer | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Greg Fergus | 26,892 | 52.5 | −1.6 | $63,261.55 | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Simon Provost | 8,323 | 16.2 | +1.6 | $12,271.08 | |||
| New Democratic | Samuel Gendron | 6,483 | 12.7 | −0.9 | $1,357.33 | |||
| Conservative | Sandrine Perion | 5,507 | 10.7 | +1.6 | $12,393.59 | |||
| People's | Eric Fleury | 1,864 | 3.6 | +2.4 | $2,637.53 | |||
| Green | Simon Gnocchini-Messier | 1,459 | 2.8 | −4.2 | $9,342.81 | |||
| Free | Josée Lafleur | 375 | 0.7 | N/A | $4,513.90 | |||
| Rhinoceros | Mike LeBlanc | 203 | 0.4 | ±0.0 | $0.00 | |||
| Independent | Catherine Dickins | 143 | 0.3 | N/A | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 51,249 | 98.7 | – | $109,916.55 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 666 | 1.3 | ||||||
| Turnout | 51,915 | 66.5 | ||||||
| Registered voters | 78,032 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −1.6 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[18] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Hull—Aylmer | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Greg Fergus | 29,732 | 54.1 | +2.73 | none listed | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Joanie Riopel | 8,011 | 14.6 | +8.06 | $2,949.94 | |||
| New Democratic | Nicolas Thibodeau | 7,467 | 13.6 | −17.92 | $26,504.52 | |||
| Conservative | Mike Duggan | 4,979 | 9.1 | +1.38 | $18,923.80 | |||
| Green | Josée Poirier Defoy | 3,869 | 7.0 | +5.13 | $9,958.48 | |||
| People's | Rowen Tanguay | 638 | 1.2 | $638.31 | ||||
| Rhinoceros | Sébastien Grenier | 195 | 0.4 | $0.00 | ||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Alexandre Deschênes | 102 | 0.2 | +0.02 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 54,993 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 692 | |||||||
| Turnout | 55,685 | 70.4 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 79,072 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −2.67 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[19][20] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Hull—Aylmer | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Greg Fergus | 28,478 | 51.37 | +30.88 | $77,403.19 | |||
| New Democratic | Nycole Turmel | 17,472 | 31.52 | −27.26 | $73,823.88 | |||
| Conservative | Étienne Boulrice | 4,278 | 7.72 | −2.33 | $3,208.51 | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Maude Chouinard-Boucher | 3,625 | 6.54 | −2.14 | $5,830.63 | |||
| Green | Roger Fleury | 1,035 | 1.87 | −0.14 | $6,523.33 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Sean J. Mulligan | 291 | 0.52 | – | $5,299.81 | |||
| Independent | Luc Desjardins | 160 | 0.3 | – | – | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Gabriel Girard | 101 | 0.18 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,440 | 100.0 | $213,352.22 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 391 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 55,831 | 70.8% | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 78,773 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | 28.92% | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[21][22] | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Speaker of the House of Commons - About the Speaker".
- ^ a b "Greg Fergus, MP: A wonk in a candy shop | Ottawa Citizen". January 4, 2016. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "Can this man unite feuding Liberals?". December 26, 2007. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Ottawa Reunion 2015". Selwyn House School. November 13, 2015. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ a b Meet Greg Fergus Archived November 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Liberal.ca.
- ^ "SHS Graduation Exercises and Academic Prizegiving, 1986". Selwyn House School. June 1986. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Selwyn House School Yearbook 1986". Selwyn House School. October 4, 1986. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ Selwyn House Yearbook 1985
- ^ Can this man unite feuding Liberals? Archived March 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The Montreal Gazette, December 26, 2007.
- ^ in October 2023, Fergus was elected as the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons NDP accuses Liberals of spreading rumour a candidate is dying Archived October 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, CBC News, October 14, 2015.
- ^ "CP NewsAlert: House of Commons elects Greg Fergus as next Speaker". Toronto Star. October 3, 2023. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Zimonjic, Peter. "MP Greg Fergus becomes the latest Liberal caught violating ethics rules". Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Aiello, Rachel (December 4, 2023). "Speaker Fergus apologizes, faces calls to resign over 'personal' video played at Ontario Liberal event". CTV News.
- ^ "Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'". CTV News. April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Poilievre subdued in question period the day after getting kicked out for 'wacko' comment". CBC.ca. May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "House Speaker Greg Fergus accused of using 'very partisan' language about Pierre Poilievre in ad promoting coming event". The Globe and Mail. May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ "House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster". CTV News. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Confirmed candidates — Hull—Aylmer". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ "Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Hull—Aylmer, 30 September 2015". Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit- Official website
- Greg Fergus – Parliament of Canada biography
- Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca