Speaker’s Statement – Election of the Speaker pro tempore
Honourable senators, on February 8, 2021, the Senate adopted the fourth report of the Committee of Selection. That report recommended “that for the remainder of this parliamentary session, the position of Speaker pro tempore be filled by means of a secret ballot, using a process to be established by the Speaker after consulting with the Leader of the Government, the Leader of the Opposition, and the leader or facilitator of any other recognized party or recognized parliamentary group.”
These consultations have now taken place, and I am pleased to advise the Senate that the election of the Speaker pro tempore will be by ranked ballot.
To be a candidate, a senator will have to communicate his or her interest by email to the Clerk of the Senate by noon on Monday, May 10, 2021.
At the start of the sitting after Monday, May 10, I will announce the names of the senators who are candidates. Instead of proceeding to Senators’ Statements, we will then hear from the candidates for a maximum of three minutes each, irrespective of the total time required. If there are less than six candidates, any balance of time can be used for regular statements.
One hour after we have heard from the candidates, the voting will start. Details about the confidential system will follow shortly before voting is to start. Only the Clerk will have access to information about the vote. He will not reveal any of this information to anyone.
Senators will have until 6 p.m. on the day after voting starts. That deadline could be extended if required for technical reasons. When they vote, senators will rank as many candidates as they wish, with one being their first choice, two their second, and so on.
After the voting, the Clerk will count the votes in private. After the initial count, the candidate, or candidates, with the fewest votes will be dropped and those votes redistributed to the next active preference on the ballot, if one is indicated. The process will continue with successive rounds until a candidate has a majority of votes that are still active. If, after all possible distributions, two or more candidates have the same number of votes, a run-off election will be held.
The name of the chosen candidate will be announced at the start of the sitting following completion of counting. A motion to name that senator as Speaker pro tempore will then be deemed moved, seconded, and adopted, without debate, amendment, or further vote. No further details will be provided, and the Clerk will keep all information related to the vote confidential.