Following the May 26 selection of Francis Scarpaleggia as House Speaker, the roster of assistant Speakers was also announced last week, featuring two Conservatives new to their roles, and one longtime Liberal who’s no stranger to subbing in the Speaker’s chair.

Four-term Alberta Conservative MP Tom Kmiec was selected as the new deputy Speaker and chair of Committees of the Whole on May 28. This is his first time in this role, having been his party’s caucus chair from 2019 to 2021, and the opposition deputy House leader from February to September 2022. 

In a May 28 post on X, Kmiec said he was “honoured” to be named deputy Speaker “by unanimous consent of all MPs,” and “proud to be the fourth Albertan to serve in the Speaker’s chair.”

The Hill Times reported on May 22 that Kmiec had been actively reaching out to colleagues to secure support to run for House Speaker, but ultimately didn’t submit his name for the May 26 election. “I will enforce the rules known as our Standing Orders as they exist and are written. Words should be weighed, not counted. Your constituents should judge your behaviour, not the Speaker,” wrote Kmiec in his letter to MPs.

Kmiec takes over from his Conservative colleague Chris d’Entremont, who’d been deputy Speaker since late 2021. He also withdrew his name from the running to be chief House Speaker. 

Having likewise pulled out of the Speaker’s race last week is another Class-of-2015 Conservative MP John Nater, who managed to find himself in Speaker’s robes anyway as he was appointed assistant deputy Speaker and assistant deputy chair of Committees of the Whole on May 29. 

“I am humbled that my nomination was confirmed by the unanimous consent of the House. As I take on these new responsibilities, my commitment to serving the people of Perth–Wellington remains firm!” the Ontario MP posted on X on May 30. Nater previously served as opposition deputy House leader from 2019 to 2020. p

Nater succeeds Liberal MP Alexandra Mendès as assistant deputy Speaker and committee assistant deputy chair, though she’s not gone far. The five-term Liberal MP got a small promotion: while still an assistant deputy Speaker—a role she’s held since December 2019—the Quebec MP is now the deputy chair of Committees of the Whole. She takes over from former NDP MP Carol Hughes who did not run again in the recent federal election.

Giving literal meaning to the term ‘lucky bum’

Liberal MP Sean Casey is convinced the seat next to his in the House is a good-luck charm for whomever sits there.

“The seat beside me has quietly become known as ‘the lucky seat’—no matter where it ends up in any given Parliament,” Casey wrote in a seven-part post on X on May 26.

He listed all his former House seatmates who have either gone on to serve in cabinet or other leadership roles, including current Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, former defence minister Bill Blair, former fisheries minister and now ex-MP Joyce Murray, former health minister and also ex-MP Mark Holland, and current Senator Rodger Cuzner.

“Three years ago, when Francis [Scarpaleggia] landed in the lucky seat, I jokingly congratulated him on his impending promotion. He laughed. I wasn’t joking,” the five-term Prince Edward Island MP wrote. Scarpaleggia beat out six other Liberal MPs who put their names forward for the House Speaker job, including Casey, who was gracious in defeat and wished his former seatmate well.

“Keep an eye on Sukh Dhaliwal. He’s got the seat now.”

Bloc MP wants details on ‘denial of democracy’ in Quebec riding

On the heels of its Superior Court challenge against Elections Canada for the recount results in Terrebonne, Que., the Bloc Québécois is again calling the agency in charge of voting to account, this time for perceived failures on election day in the vast northern Quebec riding of Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou.

The party’s Indigenous relations critic Sébastien Lemire, who represents the neighbouring riding of Abitibi–Témiscamingue, issued a statement in French on June 2 saying some voters were not able to cast their ballots due to polling stations being “either opened partially or not at all.” 

“This is a serious obstacle, which represents nothing more or less than a denial of democracy to the voters who were confronted with the closed doors of the polling stations,” said Lemire.

The three-term MP wants the agency to “tell us how many polling stations were unable to open, in which communities, for how long, how many citizens were blocked from voting,” as well as “what solutions they intend to implement to prevent this from happening again.”

Going into the April 28 federal election, Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou was held by the Bloc Québécois’ Sylvie Bérubé, who was defeated by just shy of 2,200 votes by Liberal candidate—now-Indigenous Services Minister—Mandy Gull-Masty.

Poilievre adds Substack to social media toolbox

As he waits for a second chance to win a seat in the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre added another platform to his social media toolbox by reviving an account on Substack.

While his first post on the long-form, subscriber-based email newsletter platform was technically on Jan. 26 with a “coming soon” placeholder, the Conservative leader published his first proper post on May 29. Titled A Half-Trillion Dollars in a Banker’s Suit, the newsletter is a nearly word-for-word transcript of Poilievre’s nearly five-minute-long video published the same day on X, picking apart Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first main estimates bill, the May 27 Throne Speech, and Liberal spending promises. 

Poilievre is the latest politician to join the Substack party. Longtime Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner has been active on the platform since before January 2023, and as of June 2 had more than 97,000 subscribers. Other Conservatives on the platform include deputy leader Melissa Lanstman, Michael Chong, Garnett Genuis, and Tom Kmiec, as well as former party leader Erin O’Toole and Reform Party founder Preston Manning. Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault is also a Substacker, as is NDP MP Heather McPherson and now-former NDP MP Matthew Green.

CTV news, politics shows win big at Canadian Screen Awards

The 2025 Canadian Screen Awards were handed out last weekend at CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto, and there are a few political programs that received kudos for their excellent work.

CTV’s Question Period hosted by Vassy Kapelos won Best Political News Program or Series. CTV also took home the gong for Best National Newscast for CTV National News with Omar Sachedina.

Best Live News Special went to the coverage of the March 2024 funeral for former prime minister Brian Mulroney broadcast by (checks notes) CTV, which also cleaned up in the category of Best News or Information Program for its W5 series. That program’s host, Avery Haines, also won in Best Host or Interviewer, News, or Information

The CBC received a few awards, too, including Best News or Information Series for The Fifth Estate. The network’s chief correspondent, Adrienne Arsenault, also won in the category of Best News Anchor, National, for her work hosting The National. And always making fun of the week that was, This Hour has 22 Minutes won in the category of Best Sketch Comedy Program or Series.

And Global National’s Jeff Semple won for Best National Reporter.

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times